By By MIKE VOSS
mike@wdnweb.com
Contributing Editor
A restructuring of the Turnage Theaters Foundation’s debt-service requirements and a $765,000 contribution to prepay mortgage principal is expected to improve the foundation’s fiscal picture during 2011, the foundation’s directors were told Tuesday night.
That fiscal picture, as foundation officials said in November, is expected to improve if the foundation receives more support from the public and private sectors.
Bob Schultz, the foundation’s treasurer, presented an overview of the foundation’s finances during the foundation’s annual meeting at the Turnage Theater. The $765,000 contribution from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, extending the foundation’s mortgage amortization from 10 to 15 years, using the remaining $135,000 from a contribution by National Spinning to reduce mortgage principal and using 50 percent of a grant from the City of Washington to do the same thing will ease the foundation’s debt-service burden, Schultz told the directors.
During an interview in November, Schultz said the Turnage has a $2 million mortgage to pay off.
The city has been providing $100,000 a year for five years to the foundation, but that commitment ends this year, according to Matt Rauschenbach, the city’s assistant manager and chief financial officer.
The foundation wants the city to continue that financial support.
“We must go back and convince them … of how essential their support is,” Schultz said.
According to Schultz’s presentation, the four limited liability companies under the foundation’s umbrella, when combined, were in the black to the tune of $6,173 for 2010. The foundation LLC reported a net income of $282,675. The master tenant LLC reported a loss of $198,733. The lessor tenant reported a loss of $65,283. The tenant LLC reported a loss of $12,486.
The LLCs represent different aspects of the foundation’s ventures and were created, in part, to take advantage of certain tax breaks.
During 2010, Schultz said, the foundation was able to pay its bills “almost on time, most of the time.”
Improving the foundation’s fiscal health depends on city support, support from local businesses and support from individuals, Schultz said.
The financial restructuring improves the future viability of the theater, Schultz said.
In the president’s report, Jon Tingelstad, who is serving as the foundation’s interim president until a new president is named, said the foundation needs financial support from all segments of the community to keep the Turnage Theater open.
Scotty Henley, executive director of the foundation, said he will continue to seek programming that appeals to more people than the theater’s “core” audience that attends most events at the theater.
Henley also asked the directors to consider hiring a part-time technical director, someone who could reduce the hours he spends at the theater. Henley also serves at the theater’s technical director, the position for which he was originally hired.
Henley took on the executive director’s role after the previous executive director left for a job elsewhere.
In other business, Bill Lord was elected vice president of the foundation. Schultz was re-elected its treasurer.