The Arts of Collin County Performance Hall and Arts Park

[NThomas]

Frisco City Council nixes ballot measure on funds for Collin County arts hall

I am not sure there is an appetite for an arts center in Collin County, when you already have a great arts center in Dallas, and Fort Worth.

Things like this are why it'd be nice to have all four cities merge into a single city: Collin, Texas: the 28th largest city in the nation.

[AeroD]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...l.e4eeffb.html

Collin County arts hall plans faces hang-up with Frisco bonds petition, council runoff
01:02 AM CDT on Monday, May 17, 2010

By VALERIE WIGGLESWORTH / The Dallas Morning News
vwigglesworth@dallasnews.com

The fate of an arts hall in Allen could be tied to politics and petitions in nearby Frisco.

On Friday, the Frisco Tea Party turned in more than 1,300 signatures on a petition asking the City Council there to let residents decide on the $16.4 million remaining in bonds for the proposed Collin County arts hall.

...

When Frisco voters approved the $19 million in bonds, city leaders pledged that the project would not go forward unless the county's four biggest cities all committed. So the council found itself with a dilemma when McKinney voters opted not to get involved.

Frisco Tea Party co-chair BJ Bjorklund said McKinney's decision changed the nature of the project.

"We don't want our City Council to make the final decision," he said of the reason behind the petition. "We just want to let the voters decide.

[tamtagon]

I really like how the Tea Party movement is shaking things up and seemingly generating scrutiny on gov't spending, but I also think many communities are at risk to have politically motivated "good intentions" short circuit long range plans.

[AeroD]

I really like how the Tea Party movement is shaking things up and seemingly generating scrutiny on gov't spending, but I also think many communities are at risk to have politically motivated "good intentions" short circuit long range plans.

What is interesting is the rather mellow response by the Tea Party in Frisco. At least publicly they are saying it wants Friscans??? to vote on this as a result of McKinney pulling out. That seems to be a rather practical reason. Should 3 cities try to make up the shortfall as a result of one city (McKinney) backing out?

One would have probably expected a more ideological reaction from the Tea Party such as, "Government should not be in the business of art."

The Frisco Tea Party maybe as mad as hell about federal spending, but it appears it is wanting to draw distinctions between federal and local spending. After all those folks moved out to Frisco because they want to live someplace nice and have access to nice amenities.

[cowboyeagle05]

More lack of funding interest for the Arts Center could kill the project all together if they don't find 16 million dollars.

http://westplano.bubblelife.com/v/3555760/4VUIC

Arts center hears financial reports

Officials from The Arts Center of North Texas want the public to know they are not dead. That being said, they are looking for the big donor to get the product started.

The project, formerly known as the Arts of Collin County, has hired the services of CSL Marketing to help them raise the $16 million needed to begin construction.

"We haven't had that big white knight yet," Executive Director Mike Simpson said. "We are still working on trying to find that person in the Collin, Denton, North Dallas County area, the person that can give $5, $10, $15 million to get this thing started."

The budget shortfall was caused when Frisco, one of the arts center's original owner cities, pulled all funding from the project. Frisco had $16.4 million in remaining bond money left when voters revoked the city's authority to sell bonds during a May 2011 election. Plano and Allen still remain as owner cities, with each having $16.4 million remaining in unsold bonds.

CSL was hired at the beginning of September to help raise funds to continue the project. The company is expect[ed] to raise $3.5 million to $11 million in the first six months of the contract, or else the organization would go into Phase 2 of the project, which could include abolishing the project and liquidating all of the project's assets....

...The contract with CSL was signed on Sept. 1, giving the arts center until Feb. 29 to come up with the required money to continue the project...

[psukhu]

I live in Frisco and the art museums in Dallas or Fort Worth are reasonably close enough. I do see these cities doing their own art centers as they reach build-out in 20 years.

[AeroD]

I live in Frisco and the art museums in Dallas or Fort Worth are reasonably close enough. I do see these cities doing their own art centers as they reach build-out in 20 years.

Plano should go on its own, and build one in the Legacy Town Center. Make Legacy Town Center a destination. The proposed Arts Center location is really a drag. Same the comments people make about the Dallas Arts District about it not being lively...well imagine this place surrounded by a sea of parking lots.