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New plans emerge from ACC meeting
by Heather M. Smith, Staff writer
The Arts of Collin County board of directors will move forward with a plan to clean up the site for the ACC project, and some believe that because of falling prices, now is the time to start construction.
The ACC will now partner with the parks departments of the three owner cities n Allen, Plano and Frisco n in a joint effort to clean up the future site for the project. David Hicks, chairman of the site improvement committee, suggested making the effort a community service for students and Boy Scouts.
“What we envision is an ongoing ACC youth community service project,” Hicks said. “The goal is to give the youth of the area some ownership with the project.”
Brian Bristow, assistant director of Allen Parks and Recreation, said that all three owner cities will help with equipment n including a chipper, compact tractor, and hand and power tools n and will also provide a crew. The tentative start time is spring break.
“We want to have events on the site this summer,” said Mike Simpson, executive director.
One good result of the recession is that construction costs are falling. Dennis Abraham, project director, said he has seen a definite drop in costs. He presented the board with an example of a construction job costing $80 million in August 2008; by February 2009, the price for that job dropped to $74.5 million. Abraham said he expects the trend to last for a little while longer.
“The time is now [to start construction],” Simpson said.
Abraham said there are four factors that add up to a lower total cost for construction. The first is that the cost of materials has dropped, including the costs for petroleum-based materials. Also, wages are no longer escalating, shipping costs have plummeted and contractors are submitting competitive bids for jobs.
Mary Vail-Grube, administrative director for the ACC, and Simpson have met with three of the four companies the board is considering to provide the ACC with a public awareness program and marketing. Vail-Grube said all three firms “have something to bring to the table,” but no concrete decision was made as to which company the ACC will hire.
“We don’t have a final recommendation yet,” Simpson said. “At the next meeting we will have a recommendation.”
Simpson reported that most items on his “90-day quick-hit plan” n a list he created when he began his current role with the commission n have been accomplished. He also said he hasn’t left a single presentation without a donation and on March 3, the ACC will announce a gift given in a realtor’s name.
“Everybody gets the same thank you letter, whether it’s a $2 donation or $100,000,” Simpson said.
Recently, the ACC received a $1 million donation from the AT&T Foundation, a $250,000 donation from the Plano Arts and Cultural Education (PACE) foundation and a $100,000 donation from the Lantana Education/Charitable Foundation.
Contact Heather Smith at HSmith@acnpapers.com.
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This theatre will cost Plano taxpayers at least $1 million every single year to cover the operating budget deficit, permanently. "