Debate reignites over music center revenue at Commissioners’ meeting

Local News X A proposal that could change where money from the Brown County Music Center goes drew a large response Wednesday, April 1. At the center of the discussion is what happens to “extra” money the Music Center makes after it pays its bills and sets aside required reserves. Right now, most of that extra money, 75 percent, goes to the Brown County Community Foundation, which then distributes it to local nonprofits. A smaller portion goes to the county, 25 percent. Commissioner Tim Clark introduced a proposal that would send all the extra money to the county instead. He said the goal is to let the public weigh in on how that money should be used. “The intent is to offer citizens a voice,” Clark said. He said the money could help pay for things like sheriff’s department salaries and bridge repairs. He pointed to county needs, including sheriff’s department staffing and a recent bridge report identifying eight bridges needing replacement at $8.36 million, 27 needing rehabilitation at $9.67 million and 38 with weight limits. Clark also said taxpayers are already tied to the Music Center financially. The project was built using a loan backed by innkeepers’ tax revenue, and the county helped support it during the COVID-19 shutdown. “My point is risk,” Clark said later in the meeting. “If we have an economic downturn, where’s that money going to come from?” Clark said the Music Center is a county asset backed by innkeepers’ tax revenue tied to a $12.5 million loan, placing risk on taxpayers. He also referenced $2.7 million in federal pandemic funding and $239,000 in county support. But many in the room questioned both the proposal and the process. Bruce Gould, a member of the Music Center board, said the group had only received the proposal minutes before the meeting. “We’ve had zero time to review it,” Gould said. “There’s really no hurry on this.” He asked commissioners to wait before even introducing the idea, saying the board should have time to review it and talk to an attorney. John Elliott, chair of the Brown County Community Foundation, said the foundation does not expect the money and does not know how much it will receive in any given year. “We don’t take it for granted, we don’t expect it,” Elliott said. But he said the money makes a difference when it is distributed through local nonprofits. “I would challenge you to find a more effective use of those dollars,” he said. Sherrie Mitchell asked whether the Music Center would still be required to keep its financial safety net in place before any money is distributed. She also questioned what would happen if another major downturn occurred and whether the county would end up having to step in financially again. Pam Gould was more direct in her criticism. “I’m quite frankly very disappointed that this has come around again,” she said, calling it the ninth time the issue has been raised. Gould argued that the venue is profitable in large part because it is run with “hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of volunteer labor,” and said many of those volunteers would not welcome effectively becoming “unpaid county employees.” She also said the amount of time and effort the commissioners have spent on the issue is “outrageous” given the relatively small amount of money involved compared with the county budget, and she accused county government of not showing itself to be fiscally responsible enough to justify taking more money from the Music Center. Jim Schultz pointed to the long process that created the current arrangement, saying it involved many meetings and community input. “You don’t circumvent it,” he said, arguing that if residents don’t like how county government spends money, they should address that through elections, not by changing the agreement. Clark pushed back, saying there were limited opportunities for public input at the time and that a project of that size should have had more discussion. Local hotel owner Jimmy Tilton raised a different concern. He noted that the building itself is owned by a nonprofit and questioned whether it made sense for government to try to take all of the extra revenue. “It’s just a little interesting that you’re asking a not-for-profit corporation to give you all their money,” he said. Dena Patrick, who previously served on the Music Center board, said she was concerned the issue keeps coming back and could continue to do so every time elected officials change. She also pushed back on repeated references to federal COVID funding, saying the Music Center qualified for that money just like many other organizations did. Clark responded by again focusing on long-term risk, saying the county would likely be expected to step in if the Music Center faced financial trouble in the future. Patrick then turned directly to Commissioner Ron Sanders, noting that he serves on the Maple Leaf Management Board but “barely” attends meetings. She said it was important for the commissioners’ representative to be present more often and said she respected Sanders for previously acknowledging in public that he had used the wrong numbers when he ran for commissioner in talking about the Music Center’s value and tax implications. Sanders replied that whether the numbers were wrong “is debatable,” but then explained what he meant. He said he had originally treated the Music Center like a standard commercial real estate deal, assuming a 10 to 20 percent return if it were sold but later came to understand that the Music Center is different and not easily measured that way. County Council President Darren Byrd addressed the federal funding issue, saying the Music Center applied for pandemic relief because the money was available and would have gone elsewhere if it had not. He said the money was there for shuttered venues during the pandemic and “it would have been irresponsible for us not to apply”. Clark did not back off his concern. “It’s risk,” he said again, questioning what would happen if similar funding is not available in the future if the music center would struggle. After public comment ended, commissioners agreed not to move forward yet. The board unanimously voted to table the issue until more information could be gathered. At the end of the meeting, Kim Robinson with the YMCA asked for support for the Salt Creek Trail project, which aims to connect paths through Nashville. Plans include studying a route along State Road 46 using state right-of-way and adding a crossing near the existing Salt Creek bridge. The trail would run from the YMCA area near the Music Center toward Parkview. Robinson said the group is seeking a letter of support to help move the project forward with the Indiana Department of Transportation. She said the request is not for funding, but for help advancing the next step in the process. Featured Local Savings