The Plymouth Philharmonic is now the official artist in residence at Memorial Hall by a unanimous vote of the Select Board on Tuesday.
The Philharmonic asked for the partnership to reduce its costs of operating at Memorial Hall, which have nearly tripled since 2018.
“What really threw us in the last year was a huge increase in security costs, said Paul Blanchard, a former member of the of the Philharmonic’s board of directors. Security costs were tripled “for no rational reason,” Blanchard said.
The agreement lowers by 30% the rates the town charges the Philharmonic to perform and to rehearse at Memorial Hall. Currently, the town charges the Phil $3500 for each concert date and $1750 each time the orchestra rehearses at Memorial Hall.
The agreement also gives the Phil the right of first refusal on all concert dates, meaning that if any other performers want to perform in Memorial Hall, the town must first consult with the Phil to see if it wants that date. In all, the Phil projects using the hall 20 days a year, including rehearsals.
“Knowing that we have a set plan can help us engage different artists, potentially bring over people with longer lead time,” said Erin LaFleur, the Phil’s director of audience development and engagement.
The agreement between the town and the Phil is for three years, with the possibility of extending it for another two years. The Phil will continue to hold its classical concerts at Plymouth South High School next year with the goal of moving them to Memorial Hall the following year. The pops concerts will continue to be at Memorial Hall.
Memorial Hall faces huge problems. In October, the Select Board approved spending $750,000 to make urgent repairs to the building. At the time, Town Manager Derek Brindisi told the board the expenditure would buy the town 5 years to decide whether to spend tens of millions of dollars to refurbish it or tear it down and build a new hall.
Also on Tuesday, the board unanimously approved Brindisi’s plan to reorganize parts of town government. He proposed making Lauren Lind, the town’s current director of planning and development, the next assistant town manager effective May 2nd. The position has been vacant since February. Brindisi is proposing she focus exclusively on affordable housing, economic development, and historic preservation.
Select Board member Deb Iaquinto also proposed following up on offensive remarks at Town Meeting by Jeff Fosdick by looking into whether Plymouth could follow other towns in enacting public censure for public officials who violate decorum at public meetings.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org