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Arts board president resigns: Plano representative served since 2009
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com, @Bill_PlanoStar on Twitter
Change is in the air at the Arts Center of North Texas.
The project's attorneys recently completed a multi-month review of all donation agreements at the request of the city of Frisco, which could lead to a vote on the project's dissolution in the next few months.
When the project is finally laid to rest, it will likely come without the input of longtime board member Bobby Baggett, who announced his resignation Friday. Baggett, a Plano representative, has been on the board since 2009.
"I believe it is time to transition the remaining duties and governance processes of the dissolution process ... to city personnel, their attorneys and perhaps a smaller or different complexion of a board more suited for the remaining tasks," Baggett said during the meeting. "However, what's left to do now is finalize the dissolution plan and go through the related legal processes which are more of a political and legal process for the cities. Again, I feel we have completed the job we signed up for."
Baggett said even though he will officially step down as ACNT board president on March 31, he still has a passion for the performing arts.
"In the past few months there has been a growing number of arts groups, arts supporters and leaders in our community that are in the process of organizing a new independent 501(c)(3) entity whose purpose will be to carry on the vision of a regional arts center in Collin County," he told the board. "I would like to begin focusing my time on helping with that effort."
During his time on the board, Baggett, a partner at a Dallas accounting firm, worked closely with Mike Simpson, the project's former executive director who resigned last year. Simpson said he believes Baggett's time on the board was filled with highs and lows but that Baggett did a fine job leading the seven-member board.
"He served during a crucial time for the Arts Center of North Texas because he was there when we started taking a different direction after Frisco pulled out of the project," Simpson said, adding that Baggett served on the board when the project was only $300,000 away from breaking ground. "I thought he did a very good job of keeping the board focused on taking a new direction, changing the name of the organization [from the Arts of Collin County] and changing the direction we took on fundraising."
With Baggett's resignation, a new member will be appointed by the Plano City Council. The new Plano appointee will join Kathy Litinas as the two newest members of the seven-person board.
Litinas, who represents Allen and replaced Craig Sundell, attended her first board meeting Friday. She moved to Allen in 1995 and has worked with the Allen Philharmonic, as well as previously serving on the original Allen committee that helped form the Arts of Collin County more than a decade ago.
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