Relocation plan alarms Unison Arts and Learning Center boosters

A large part of the problem, Nolan said, was the fact that the physical facility is not owned by the organization, but by Unison founders Stuart and Helene Bigley, whose home is also located on the site. This makes it difficult for Unison to qualify for grant funding to do urgently needed infrastructure repairs, including resurfacing the potholed parking lot, replacing the aging heating system and remediating mold in the ceiling in addition to installing a water treatment system. He also questioned the “ethical implications of a not-for-profit doing capital improvements to a landlord’s property,” such as the theater’s broken air conditioning system that the organization replaced several years ago.

Unison’s lease with the Bigleys, which expires the end of December, requires the organization to maintain the facility, including shared maintenance of a road entrance that traverses a neighbor’s right-of-way — “lease arrangements that are detrimental to the organization,” according to board secretary Bill Connors.

Stuart Bigley, who was present at the meeting, explained that during his long tenure as executive director, having Unison take care of the property “made sense, because a not-for-profit could get in-kind donations,” like local road maintenance contractors dumping and spreading fill to repair potholes. He later estimated the annual cost to the organization of that particular maintenance task at under $600, although Nolan told the Times that in his view, “The surface needs to be remediated completely.”

Alarmed at the prospect of Unison’s longtime headquarters closing, many in the audience asked for more specific figures as to how much money needed to be raised in order to do the repairs and make the organization viable at the site once again. “How much is this a done deal?” asked Susan Scher, a longtime supporter along with her husband Norman Goluskin. “What exactly would enable Unison to remain here?” Nolan said that no quotes on the cost of the work had been solicited because of the ownership issue, but did not demur when audience members expressed the opinion that raising $10,000 should cover the repair and replacement needs that he had identified as most pressing.

Board treasurer Michael Frohnhoefer noted that the organization was in poor fiscal shape, consistently operating at a deficit, with more than $30,000 currently in accounts payable and only “a couple of thousand in the bank… We need 50 to 60 thousand to get through the end of the year.” Nolan added that the Unison staff had not been paid in some time.

Among the options discussed for remedying the situation was having the organization purchase the property outright, but Stuart Bigley called it “a lousy time for me to want to sell” on account of the current soft real estate market. He also said that he and Helene, who are both visual artists, did not wish to give up their home, which provides them ample studio space. Noting that he had never drawn a high enough salary as executive director to amass much savings, Bigley said, “One thing that Unison didn’t give me upon leaving was a golden parachute… My only retirement plan is this property.” He said that he had tried to keep the rental “as low as possible…around $18,000,” adding that his annual property taxes consumed about $13,000 of that income. “I wish I was in a position to donate the property to Unison. I’m not.”

Another idea put forward at the meeting was to have the Bigleys subdivide the property, retaining ownership of the house and selling the theatre, surrounding sculpture gardens and parking lot to the organization; but the odd shape of the property and minimal road frontage might cause the New Paltz Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to balk at approving such a site plan. “It would be a mess to subdivide,” said Bigley, “but I would consider it, if it can be done.”

Bigley noted that he had been speaking with a potential co-tenant who might provide an additional income stream to ease Unison’s cash-flow problem: a man who wants to start a school that would utilize the facility only during weekday daytime hours, when other programming is minimal. He described the prospect of having the organization to which he had devoted most of his life give up on the site altogether as “like seeing your baby diagnosed with a terminal illness.”

Goluskin had harsh words for the current board’s handling of the long-brewing fiscal crisis, saying that it had “organized the organization down” and calling for “a new board that has a vision.” Echoing the sentiments of many in the audience that Unison would lose its audience and donors without a permanent theater, Goluskin said, “Performers say what a terrific space this is. If there is no consistent space, it will be the death of Unison…. The answer is fundraising. I think the organization has done a really poor job of fundraising. Cost-cutting is not a strategy.”

Many in the audience seemed eager to find a solution that would keep Unison in place. “Can we not make this a fait accomplí?” pleaded Morgan Erenzo, calling the current site with its combined concert, gallery and classroom space a vital community hub. “Let’s see what we can do. Let’s put our heads together with arts partners,” she said, arguing that outreach to small business supporters like her husband Ralph’s Tuthilltown Spirits had not been optimized.

Nolan urged Unison supporters to seize the initiative of doing the necessary fundraising. “Why don’t all of you get together and buy the place? Then you have something to work with,” he said. The assembled group made a plan to meet again at Unison in two weeks’ time, on Sunday evening, November 23, and to spend the intervening time recruiting others in the community who want to keep the existing facility open.