Maitland works to amend Art Center lease terms

With the expiration of the one-year trial period of Art & History Museums – Maitland’s lease with the city of Maitland a month away, talks of lease changes, acceptance and termination were batted back and forth at the City Council’s meeting on Monday.

Forty-two days and two City Council meetings had passed, Councilman Phil Bonus said, since the Council had unanimously agreed July 9 to offer to extend the one-year probationary period for an additional year before renewing A&H’s automatic 51-year lease. And at the time he penned the text for his requested agenda item, he said, the city had gotten no response from A&H, which led him to request an ultimatum on Aug. 27: Agree this week, or terminate the lease.

“Either sign the addendum, or we’re left with an ultimatum,” he said.

What would actually come out of the night’s discussions was a proposal of a different nature from Maitland Mayor Howard Schieferdecker. City Attorney Cliff Shepard will draft an amendment to the current lease to address concerns from Council members and have A&H approve it before the issue is brought back to Council on Sept. 10.

Schieferdecker and Councilwoman Bev Reponen both spoke in favor of accepting the lease as-is and allowing it to renew automatically on Sept. 30, but with opposition from Bonus and Councilwoman Linda Frosch, they accepted the compromise to seal the vote of remaining Councilman Ivan Valdes.

Valdes asked for an amendment to the lease to be added, stating that if by Sept. 30, 2015, A&H had not purchased land, an existing building or commenced construction on a new building in the Cultural Corridor to make space for new art galleries, the lease could be terminated. A&H’s attorney Glenn Adams submitted a version of this amendment to the city attorney just before the night’s meeting began.

“I don’t feel they have enough skin in the game,” Valdes said, adding that this amendment was his way of getting that extra accountability for the future growth of A&H.

The motion to draft the amendment, with a final presentation set for the Sept. 10 Council meeting, was approved 3-2, with Bonus and Frosch dissenting, still in favor of the addition of the extra one-year trial phase. The pair stated they felt A&H would benefit from an extra year of trial oversight from the city.

“Please understand we are trying to help them become better… but they’re not ready. They’re not ready to be out on their own yet,” Frosch said.

A&H Executive Director Andrea Bailey-Cox said she left the meeting feeling positive, having garnered the support of the majority of the Council in moving forward to roll into the 51-year lease with the city as of Oct. 1. This, she said, will allow A&H to move forward with a reinvigorated master plan and continued growth. She said the organization is confident and comfortable with the idea of complying with Valdes’ additional amendment.

“It’s a perfect match for our goals and the city’s goals,” she said.

Shepard said the intent of the current proposed amendment is solid, but that leading up to the next meeting will be made “air tight” as far as legality. This, he said, will include eliminating some of its vagueness – including defining the size specifications of what qualifies as a building when it comes to adding a new space to display art.

Schieferdecker said he remains confident that A&H has proven itself in the past year and deserves the long-term lease with the city to continue growing and thriving, and he said he supports the amendment if it will help do so. “It’s obvious to me that the best organization to continue moving our Art Center forward is A&H …. It’s time to get behind them and help them be all they can be.”