HomeMy WebLinkAboutUndated_Responsive excerpt from "Overcoming the 'Perils of Pauline'", John DunnF
THE CITYS PERSPECTIVE:
Overcoming the 'Perils of Pauline"
by John Dunn
To those of us mature enough to remember the old time movie serials, and with the possible
exception of "Lash La Rue", one of the most exciting was the "Perils of Pauline". Like a cat
with nine -lives, or like a modern mother, there was no crisis or predicament that was introduced
into Pauline's life that she didn't have the capacity and the strength and the grit to overcome.
Now what does "Pauline" have to do with the Performing Arts Center. Those of us who have
been involved with the Performing Arts Center over the years, and who have attempted to
describe the experience, have made it sound as history usually does, like a chronological and
linear experience, with one thing happening after another, all of which seem to compel events
towards their eventual conclusion.
With the happy conclusion being the completion and grand opening of the Performing Arts
Center, everything must have gone right. Right? Well, yes, overall, it did. I have personally
never observed a stronger partnership, with each partner's concern for the overall effort being at
least as strong as their concern for their own agency.
While the arts themselves are said to produce notable "prima donnas", they were notably absent'
from this project; no one stood out to hinder the collective and collaborative effort. Though there
were a number of crises, none of them ever caused any one of the parties to say, "This is a tough
ball game, I'm going to take my ball and go home."
But it would be overly sanguine to suppose that there weren't perils, and that our capacity for
resurrection after crises wasn't tested.
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As of September 1996, the Cal Poly parking garage matter is unresolved. The substance of the
lawsuit has yet to be handled, and it is estimated by Cal Poly that it will take approximately six
months to do so. Hopefully, the funding for the garage will still be available and will be
sufficient for the future cost of garage construction.
9. THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE NAMING OF THE PERFORMING ARTS
CENTER:
The Telegram -Tribune article on the morning of May 23, 1996, featured the headline, "Arts
Center Has a Name: Cohan.
This Thursday morning article discussed the meeting, held the previous Monday night, of the
Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center, when they voted
unanimously to recommend to the California State University Board of Trustees that the Center
be named in honor of Christopher Cohan for his gift of $2.1 million, first announced in February,
1990. Mr. Christopher Cohan is the owner and President of Sonic Cable Television. Mr. Cohan
had earlier donated $1.6 million in cash and pledged an additional $500,000 as in -kind donations
such as free advertising time over the cable network. In the article Myra Heslop, Executive
Director of the Foundation stated, "This was and remains the largest single gift that we have
received. His donation came at a critical time. His contribution sent the message to other
potential donors that this Center was really going to happen.
On Wednesday, the article stated Cal Poly officials hailed the Board's selection. "Mr. Cohan's
generosity has played a critical and central role in the development of the Performing Arts
Center," said Dan Howard -Green, Executive Assistant to Cal Poly President Warren Baker. We
believe this is a very appropriate choice."
The article went on to say that "while the Foundation Board vote was unanimous, some in the
community have questioned attaching the name of a donor to the Center. Foundation Board
member Bert Forbes said that while he voted for Cohan, he is philosophically opposed to the
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Center being named after anyone at ail..."I think that it's important that we recognize that he gave
us a very big lead-off gift. It's just kind of hard for me to single out one person when so many
have given so much of their time and money."
The City's initial reaction to the announcement was perhaps more of surprise than of agreement
or disagreement. However, as the days went by, Council members talked to others and was
starting to get some reactions from community members.
On May 28th an editorial appeared in the Telegram -Tribune entitled, "No One Person Should be
Singled Out." The editorial started, "Christopher Cohan's contribution to the Performing Arts
Center on the Cal Poly Campus in San Luis Obispo was the springboard for millions of dollars
of other donations that have created this jewel of a facility. But that single check -writing action
is not sufficient to have the entire facility named for Cohan." .
The editorial continued, "While Christopher Cohan's donation earned -- deservedly we believe
-- wide praise at the time for being the impetus for millions of other dollars in donations, at no
time was it even hinted that it earned him a level of recognition superior to all other
donors ... There have been thousands of hours of volunteer time devoted to making the Performing
Arts Center a reality we can all be proud to call our own ... Let the name of the facility be a
simple reflection of the effort the entire community has made to bringing it to fruition. It is not
here today solely because of the effort of any one individual."
On June 4th, Mayor Allen Settle wrote a letter to President Warren Baker and to Greg Hind,
President of the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center. "The purpose of this letter is to
express my concern with the number of calls, correspondence, and comments I have received
over the last two weeks regarding the naming of the Performing Arts Center after a particular
individual... All of us are aware of the time, effort, devotion and persistence which has gone into
the planning, design and construction of the Performing Arts Center. When completed and in
operation, the Center will stand as a testimony of discipline, persistence, tenacity and good will
on the part of many people, and particularly the three partners who brought this vision into
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reality ... The City strongly believes the creation of this Center is the finest testimony to the sense
of purpose and joint cooperative effort of the three partners. The University is a part of the
California State University system and a subpart of the State of California, and its portion is
financed by the people of the State of California. The Foundation for the Performing Arts is an
outstanding example of a creative nonprofit foundation, consisting of people from throughout the
county, who have collectively achieved the greatest private fund-raising effort in the history of
the County. The City of San Luis Obispo has been a creative and proactive partner in this long-
time vision, which has only been possible with widespread community support."
Mayor Settle's letter continued, "Hundreds of people have been involved in direct work efforts
toward the achievement of the Performing Arts Center. A smaller group of several dozen people
have served steadfastly over a period of time as the core cadre of planners, motivators and
leaders. Due to the involvement of so many, this facility is ultimately a victory for the citizens
of San Luis Obispo County ... While it is appropriate that those who have given large amounts of
money to further the Center's development should be recognized, the City believes that the joint
effort ultimately transcends the efforts of any one individual. One alternative would be to
consider a naming opportunity for the main hall rather than the facility itself"
Another article appeared in the Telegram -Tribune on June 6th and was essentially talking about
the Mayor's letter and giving some reaction to it. "During our brief interview, (President) Baker
said the Center's early pioneers and organizers agreed that the Foundation would be given the
chance to name the 1300-seat Center after it largest donor ... Baker added that at the time - late
1989 and early 1990 - organizers desperately needed an initial, sizable donation to help get the
fundraising campaign off the ground ... We made the commitment in 1988 or 89 that the
Foundation would have the ability to name the Center and I believe that it's proper that we honor
that agreement, Baker said."
In the article, Warren Sinsheimer said, "I believe that its fitting that this Center be named in
honor of Chris. He was the first big donor to the campaign and he remains the single largest
donor to date."
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It was abundantly clear at this time that there was a seemingly insolvable stalemate between the
City, which had not been consulted and was not a party to the naming decision, and the
Foundation and the University, which believed that they had made an irrevocable commitment,
and there was no honorable way they could renege on that commitment, and certainly they had
no desire to do so.
The next few days there were many telephone calls and quick visits in an attempt to reach some
type of accommodation. Many ideas for solving the stalemate were floated, only to be thought
about and then to meet rejection.
On June 1lth, the Mayor wrote a letter to the Board of Directors of FPAC stating, "The City
genuinely believes... that the total Performing Arts Center complex will be dedicated to the spirit
of the large number of people who caused it to come into being, and to the effort and sacrifice
of the three primary parties to its creation: Cal Poly University, Foundation for the Performing
Arts Center, and the City of San Luis Obispo ... the City has never been a part of any agreement
for the Performing Arts Center itself to be named for a particular individual. The City had no
knowledge of the FPAC recommendation to the University President until the day it was sent to
the Trustees. Further, the City has been an active participant with its $5 million of budgeted
funds towards the Center. Finally, we believe that the large number of generous donors have
been crucial to the success of our joint effort, and we would welcome any part of the Center
being appropriately named after major donors to the Foundation."
At 3 p.m., on Tuesday, June 18th, representatives of the Foundation, the City and Cal Poly met
at City Hall. This meeting lasted until shortly after 5 p.m. because of the City Council meeting
later that evening. City representatives were Mayor Settle, Councilman Bill Roalman and CAO
John Dunn; the Foundation representatives were President Greg Hind and Jim Sargen; and Cal
Poly's representative was Vice -President Bill Boldt. The meeting was a positive meeting,
although a majority of the time was spent by the various representatives explaining the dilemma
they were in and how it was their obligation to honor their own commitments. While some ideas
for resolving the dilemma were tossed out and considered, none passed the threshold of
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acceptability. At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that all of us would think on these things
and would meet the next day at 3:30 p.m.
The first two hours of the Wednesday meeting went very much as the previous day's meeting,
with everyone justifying and maintaining their previous commitments and positions. Various
ideas were floated for breaking the deadlock, but seemingly to no avail. Somewhere along the
line, the group realized that they had no alternative but to walk out of the room with an
agreement, despite the fact that no agreement was presently within view. Dinner was ordered
and brought in. Perhaps around 6:00 p.m., some conceptual breakthroughs started to occur. Dr.
Bill Boldt of Cal Poly should be given proper credit as the one who came up with the conceptual
underpinning for what later would become the agreement, although everyone in the room had
"variations on the theme" and were racing to get their ideas on the table for consideration.
Finally, some time after 7:30 p.m., an agreement was reached. With this agreement, perhaps like
most, there were those in the room who were happy that agreement had been reached and those
who had some reservations about the agreement, but not to the point that they were willing to
kill what had been produced. It was recognized that if this idea didn't make it, probably no other
idea would, and the parties to the partnership would remain at impasse, which would not be to
the benefit of anyone. About this time, there were discussions as to how and who would make
the announcement and about setting up the press conference for the following morning and
someone had called the Telegram -Tribune reporter.
On the morning of June 20th, the Telegram -Tribune headline read, "Compromise Reached on
Arts Center."
"The name 'Performing Arts Center - San Luis Obispo' was selected Wednesday as a compromise
to quell a growing controversy over the new arts facility... Both City and University officials have
received a steady stream of public criticism since Foundation officials announced last month that
the building would be named after Cohan to honor a 1988 agreement. Much of that sentiment
was based on the feeling that singling out Cohan's donation made other contributors - especially
those from the community - appear less important."
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"Foundation President Greg Hind said, 'We feel this is an acceptable compromise that allows the
Foundation to honor its commitment to the donor and at the same time to resolve a problem with
the community."'
"Bill Boldt, Cal Poly's Vice President of Institutional Advancement, said that on Wednesday
Baker was pleased by the agreement. He said that Baker will amend the memorandum he
recently sent to California State University's headquarters to reflect the name change."
"'I think this is a case where both sides have won,' Mayor Allen Settle said. 'I believe this
agreement honors the contributions of Mr. Cohan and those given by the community."
On this issue, as on the garage location issue, there were those in the community, and particularly
some who live in City residential neighborhoods near Cal Poly, who believed that the three issues
-- the naming of the Center, the location of the parking garage, and the loan for construction
completion and equipping the Center -- were interconnected. However, City representatives
throughout the Spring and Summer attempted to maintain the position that each issue should be
discussed and decided on its own merits and, in order to resolve them, they should be discussed
separately as much as possible.
What is the essence of the agreement? First, "two basics" were recognized: (1) the Performing
Arts Center has been called by that name by all community participants since the inception of
the project in 1985. It has been and continues to be the universally used name for this center.
(2) The Foundation for the Performing Arts Center has made a commitment to Mr. Christopher
Cohan, who made the largest and most timely gift, that the project would be called the
Christopher Cohan Center.
"In order to accommodate these two perspectives, and in the spirit of celebration of our mutual
achievement, the three partners have agreed to this concept: '(1) There would be an outside
monument sign in the Plaza which would have the logo of the Performing Arts Center and which
would read (in larger letters) Performing Arts Center and below it (in smaller letters) San Luis
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Obispo; (2) Within the building, on the balcony facade, the logo and sign would read (in large
letters) Christopher Cohan Center.
While, looking back, the agreement looks simple enough. However, it should also be said that
the days between May 23rd and June 20th were difficult and dramatic, with feelings sometimes
running high. There was a real sense of achievement when this issue was resolved.
10. THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL MONEY: THE HERITAGE OAKS BANK LOAN:
During the months of April and May, 1996, it was obvious that, again, there was insufficient
money available to finish the construction and equipment of the Center. There was a shortfall
in funding of at least $1.3 million for the remaining equipment and furnishings necessary for a
successful opening.
At this time representatives of the three partners felt they had "gone to the well" so many times
before, and the well was now dry. Specifically, neither the City, nor Cal Poly, felt they could
raise additional money and any money that the Foundation was raising was going into
construction as fast as it could be raised. In that environment, it was realized that there was a
need for $1.5 million -plus, but it was also felt that if, we could actually get our hands on a
million dollars, we could do enough to provide for a successful opening.
Examining all the other possibilities, we decided that the best opportunity was to obtain a loan
from the State of California. The Mayor and the CAO worked closely with Senator Jack
O'Connell's and Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro's offices and later met in separate meetings with
the two of them. Through Assemblyman's Bordonaro's office, we arranged for a meeting with
appropriate state representatives from the Department of Finance, the Senator's and
Assemblyman's offices, and others. Frank Lebens was to represent the University, and John
Dunn and Bill Statler represented the City. At this meeting on April 15th, we ventured up to
Sacramento and met with a group of seven people representing different offices in the State
government. We made, with all due modesty, an excellent presentation, emphasizing the
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