North Wales considering nonprofit to run Main Street art center

Borough council will have a decision to make soon about who will run the town-owned arts and cultural center on Main Street.

Council members held a detailed discussion recently on the pros and cons of whether that center should be overseen by a volunteer commission, or a formal nonprofit, and the pros and cons of each.

“Our goal was to establish what these oversight structures would be and bring them to council for approval,” said assistant borough manager Alex Turock.

The former church and adjacent office building at 125 N. Main St. have been discussed since late 2016 when the council bought both as the church faced declining membership and growing maintenance costs. In the years since, the office space was rented for art classes and use by local nonprofits, and the church area hosted several public concerts after the St. Luke’s United Church of Christ congregation held their final services there in April 2022. In August council approved a lease agreement with the Partnership TMA of Montgomery County for part of the classroom space, and a contract with AAC Event Catering, a Bustard Road-based company that caters events across the region, to run events at the banquet hall.

    Contractors work to install new lighting, finishes and fixtures in the borough-owned former church at 125 N. Main Street in North Wales in late Oct. 2024. (Credit: North Wales Borough)
  

During the Nov. 12 meeting, Turock summarized the recent renovation work and discussions about the center, including votes earlier this year to rent part of the nonprofit space to the Partnership TMA of Montgomery County, and to allow the banquet hall area to be administered by a local catering company under an exclusive contract.

“So that’s two out of three. The final step, which we wanted to update tonight, is the performing arts piece of it,” Turock said.

“This would take over what is the old sanctuary, the actual church with the pews, that part. We’ve discussed a number of ways to try to find the best strategy to do this,” he said.

An internal committee comprised of Turock and council members Wendy McClure and Brittany Kohler have held talks with borough solicitor Greg Gifford and several similar facilities in the region about what sort of board or body should oversee the arts center: a commission appointed by borough council, a nonprofit with its own leadership, or some mix of the two.

“We’ve narrowed it down to one or the other. It can either be a commission, much like our parks and rec board or the pool commission, but it really diminishes the revenue options, and there’s a variety of challenges that come with that,” Turock said.

    Rendering of an expanded second floor banquet area in the borough-owned former church at 125 N. Main Street in North Wales. (Credit: North Wales Borough)
  

Council would have direct control over the members of that commission, but would have less flexibility to apply for or receive funds from outside sources, the assistant manager told council.

“Council could establish a nonprofit, and write the bylaws in a way that council appoints the board. It gives a little more autonomy to the board, adds a little efficiency in their decision-making process, but opens up a world of revenues that a commission would not be able to take: memberships, and sponsorships, and most importantly grants,” he said.

The arts center committee has held early talks with a state arts and cultural program that could administer such grants, which said the borough would have “very little access to state grants” for programs and facility upgrades under the commission structure, and more options for those grants under the nonprofit umbrella.

“We could take sponsorships and members, and really allow the nonprofit to sustain itself, hopefully with as little borough funding put in as possible, and let it be self-sustaining,” Turock said.

Council “would maintain some control” over the nonprofit: “They control the board, and hold the lease. Even if that lease was for $1, you could always kick the nonprofit out,” he said.

Borough solicitor Greg Gifford added that having that lease in writing could be important to any future grant applications: “They’re looking to make sure borough council has very little, to no control whatsoever, to qualify for any of the grants or outside money.”

Council President Sal Amato asked about next steps, and Gifford said he could recommend firms that specialize in setting up similar nonprofits, and drafting the bylaws for incorporation could take months. Amato then asked about costs, and borough Manager Christine Hart said that would depend on whether the group chose to proceed with an internal commission or a nonprofit, as the group balances pros and cons.

“If the nonprofit board was established, many benefits would come to offset the overhead (costs). You’d have private donors, you’d be able to have memberships, you’d be able to solicit to huge corporations that may want to invest in arts and culture. A commission cannot do that,” she said.

    A newly furnished conference room can be seen in the borough-owned former church and office building at 125 N. Main Street in North Wales in late Oct. 2024. (Credit: North Wales Borough)
  

The commission route could also be limited to only nominating residents who live within the borough’s borders, while a nonprofit could draw from a wider range of candidates, the manager added.

“I think the performing arts center deserves more input, and more of an infusion, than the 3,400 residents we have. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way, but you want to take a broader reach into those professional entities, and/or corporations, that may have people that are very skilled or very dedicated,” Hart said.

Councilman Mark Tarlecki asked about a timeline for a decision, and Turock said either path would need a formal vote by council, to direct staff and/or the solicitor to prepare formal documents spelling out the governing structure. Mayor Neil McDevitt said he works in the nonprofit field and often sees competition for scarce funds from several groups, and suggested working with an existing nonprofit “that already has complimentary objectives, goals, and we don’t have to create anything.”

“The cleanest way is to do a new one, but that’s also an option,” Turock replied.

Kohler said her biggest goal was to tie into the goals of the town’s “North Wales 2040” comprehensive plan to provide an arts and cultural destination, as well as a way for residents to get more involved.

“This gives all of our residents the opportunity to be more engaged on a community level, to have something to go do, that brings everyone together,” she said.

“Each board member we would appoint would come with a certain set of qualities. They would maybe be somebody who’s great at finance, or great at grant writing, or may be great at project management or entertainment. When you say ‘let’s do an arts commission,’ you’re limiting yourself to a pot of people that is the size of a coffee cup, as opposed to an entire ocean,” Kohler said.

Amato then asked for a consensus from council, “for Alex and the team to bring forward, as an agenda item, the issue of the nonprofit,” and to prepare formal documents for further discussion and a vote at an upcoming meeting.

North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26 at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street. For more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.

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