WHITEHALL — Whitehall's Playhouse sustainability committee met again last Thursday evening to begin zeroing in on specific recommendations for how to aid the Playhouse of White Lake in overcoming its current deficit of between $65,000 and $70,000.
The committee set a date of Monday, March 31 at 5 p.m. for its next meeting, at which point, said Frank Bednarek of the Friends of the Playhouse, it intends to produce recommendations that will later be presented to the city council for approval. Bednarek said the focus has been on ideas that could deliver new revenues to the Playhouse this fiscal year.
Among the specific ideas discussed were a slight bump in the ticket prices for performances at the Playhouse, a slight bump in the price of alcoholic beverages being sold, temporary winter closures of the Playhouse to save money on utility bills during January and February, and seeking a sponsorship from the Local Development Finance Authority, which has contributed to the Playhouse in the past. Whether the final recommendations will include all, some or none of those ideas was not set, but all options were discussed at length.
One thing the committee appears to be ruling out is additions to staff. Although a study cited by mayor Steven Salter at a previous meeting concluded that facilities the size and scope of the Playhouse should be staffed by five employees - currently manager Beth Beaman and part-time employee Cindy Beth Davis-Dykema are the only staffers - the committee seeks to, Bendarek said, "do the best we can with what we've got."
The January and February closure idea appeared to gain some traction with the committee, with Beaman herself saying that would open up time for her and Davis-Dykema to do more development and fundraising work during that time. She estimated the move would save the Playhouse a few thousand dollars each of those two months on utility bills, and added that keeping the thermostat low would be unlikely to have adverse effects on the plumbing, though she'd check on things to make sure if that idea was enacted.
The committee seemed most optimistic about the possibility of an LDFA sponsorship. The authority sponsored the Playhouse in the past; city manager Scott Huebler said it contributed a total of $120,000 between 2010 and 2022 for operations and also made a $700,000 contribution to the Playhouse's capital campaign, part of $3.2 million that resulted in the 2019 renovation of the building. The LDFA has not contributed since 2022, but Huebler believes it would do so again if asked.
The Friends of the Playhouse, Bednarek said, are also hoping to drum up interest in more sponsorship money, with a goal of a 15% increase year over year for the next three years.
The committee also again discussed the possibility of giving the Playhouse a larger share of the city's share of Muskegon County marijuana tax money. A proposal to distribute $59,000 more of that money to the Playhouse instead of to sidewalk repair was voted down by the city council last year; city manager Scott Huebler noted such a move would wipe out most of the deficit currently facing the Playhouse and that the city has other funds that could be used to make up the difference. Lowering the Playhouse deficit to four figures, Huebler said, wouldn't cause city stakeholders to "hit the panic button."
However, city council member Tom Ziemer - besides Salter, the only council member on the committee - said he didn't believe local taxpayers would favor that proposal, adding that he himself voted against it last year.
The meeting included a brief look at the last five years of the Playhouse financials. In the 2021 and '22 fiscal years, pandemic grants played a role in keeping the Playhouse in the black, delivering about $165,000 over the two years. The Playhouse is expecting $25,000 of grants over the next few months, which should help this year's balance sheet.
