Why should the business community support the new Performing Arts Center in Estes Park? The answer is simple; it will help improve the bottom line of all other businesses in the Estes Park area. This effort has been moving forward for some time and great progress is being made. Many businesses are already involved and working to make this center a reality. It’s time for the entire business community to step up and join with the many other segments of our community and help finish the efforts to raise the money to build this important cultural asset and business boost for Estes Park. As business owners and workers know in our Town, the competition from other premier resort Town’s in Colorado is fierce. These other resort communities have been and continue to invest heavily in cultural facilities in their areas. Just like you invest in your business to keep it competitive and in your home to keep its value up, we need to invest in improved cultural facilities to keep our Town in the position of being the destination of choice in Colorado. We have commissioned studies over the last couple of years to determine what type of benefit a new Performing Arts venue will have on our specific, local business climate. All results have been very conclusive that the benefits will be significant. This facility will help us continue our movement towards a much stronger year round business model. There will be usage in the facility 12 months a year. This of course will bring people to our Town who will eat out in our restaurants, shop in our stores, make real estate purchases and stay in our lodging all year round. For the business owners and workers, we know firsthand how hard it is to make a living in the off season. We need to work to continue our efforts to make our Town more sustainable for businesses all year round. A facility like this will generate “clean” and good paying jobs that are consistent with our beautiful natural environment. The most recent study on economic impact conservatively estimates that this facility will bring in an addition $2.2 million of economic activity. This is the low-end, conservative estimate, but it is huge for our business community. It could turn out to be a much larger impact once it gets established. This additional economic activity will be year round, which will help keep workers employed and businesses profitable. As a quick side, additional business activity also helps to keep our taxes down as the activity also generates much needed government revenue. For instance, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wisconsin generates an annual average of $14.27 million in local economic activity, including an average of $1.76 million in state and local tax revenue. One last point, art supporters spend money. They tend to spend more money on lodging, dining and shopping than other visitors. Art supporters are also more likely to own second homes and they desire to be in communities with top quality cultural facilities. Most studies show that art supporters tend to spend twice as much as average visitors regardless of where they are visiting. In Denver, the investment in the arts generates a rate of return to their economy equal to 14:1. Even if we come remotely close to that rate of return, it’s an investment that makes good sense. Please visit the website, talk to current supporters and educate yourself on this great opportunity to improve and maintain our local economy. We are confident that once you do your research, you will see how important it is to make this project happen. There are many ways to get involved and we look forward to your help and energy.

What type of programming might we expect in the New Performing Arts Center? Everything from band concerts, to dance recitals, to popular musicals, to jazz festivals, to full orchestral and choral concerts are just a few of the types of programming that one might expect from the new facility. The uniqueness of the center lends itself to quickly change from concert mode, to theater, or be sized for smaller ensemble groups wishing to utilize the space. Local performing arts organizations will find the hall appealing for its comfortable size of 400 plus seats, as will traveling shows. Interest has already been expressed to utilize the space by local universities including University of Northern Colorado, CU-Boulder and Northern Colorado. Local and accomplished country western performers may also wish to utilize the space. A typical summer week’s scheduling may include Rocky Ridge’s visiting artists showcasing their talent on Sunday afternoons, a Monday evening Concert of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony by the Colorado Music Festival, The Sound of Music on Tuesday night, Brigadoon on Wednesday night, West Side Story on Thursday Night, a matinee on Friday of Jack and the Beanstalk children’s theater program, with a Friday evening performance by local Oratorio singing Gershwin, and Saturday another production of the children’s theater workshop, rounding out the week with an evening performance of West Side Story. These are just a few of the unlimited possibilities the Estes Park Performing Arts Center will lend itself.

How will use fees for the theater spaces be charged? There are a number of coincidental elements involved in this question. Who will manage the Theater? What will be the philosophy of the management program? How will local groups and individuals be protected in gaining availability to the facilities? What will be the scale of charges for use of the various, useable spaces in the facility? What groups or individuals will be eligible for "local status"? How will status be defined? Who or what entity will manage the facility? The funds that are being raised by SOPA INC will be turned over to the Town of Estes Park once a construction date is set. When the facility is finished and ready for occupancy it will be leased at a minimal fee to SOPA INC. for management. The board of directors of SOPA INC will hire a professional theater manager, up to a year prior to the opening of the theater complex, who is familiar with operating such a facility, booking events and acts and otherwise overseeing operations with guidance from the board. All day to day operations will be under the purview of the board to maintain professional standards in conjunction with the manager. The basic philosophy will be based on the typical "Road Theater" with equipment provided by the management and all sets and special equipment provided by the lessee and loaded in to the facility for the time of the event only. The operating method will be set by the board of directors with concentration on booking large events during the summer months that will bring in higher revenues to offset the annual operating budget. The local groups, which mostly operate in the off-season, will be protected by an agreement discussed below. The basic thinking is that the higher paying summer programming will fund most of the year-around costs of the facility, allowing for local use at reduced rates. Local groups or individual entrepreneurs will be governed by an agreement allowing use of the facilities to registered organizations with a 501(c)3 (Federal Tax free organization) designation. Groups or individuals who do not have this designation, such as an independent music teacher who wishes to produce recitals for instance, could be sponsored through an existing 501(c)3 organization. An organization may register at any time during the year for local, preferential booking status. There will be a time period of 40 days in the fall set aside each year for preferential groups to book dates in the facility for the next year. Groups who have to plan ahead will be able to make bookings for up to 5 years in advance. There will be a lottery type selection method for situations involving a number of groups that may initially pick a popular date to maintain fairness in the process. A specific number of days of use per organization may be installed to level the field for smaller groups. If a group exceeds their allotted days they may book unused days at a slightly higher rate. The dates set aside for local use per se will be in the off season when most of these groups do their programming. After the designated preferential, booking period is over, local groups may still book times and venues during the year as required that have not been pre-booked. The bulk of the summer dates will be set aside for commercial, higher rate payers, however dates that are not booked in advance for these groups may still be used by local users, based on availability and a variable use-cost to be decided on. If a local group wants to produce a major event during the summer, arrangements may be made based on a higher cost ratio than for off-season rates at the discretion of the manager. Groups who traditionally do their programming in the summer months will be protected in their usual time slots and will be allowed all the privileges of local designation. Once pre-booking is accomplished, a group will have to verify their use of the facility within a designated time period of 90 days prior to the event and make a deposit against the rental fee to maintain the booked date. This will ensure the date for the original booking entity and allow the manager time to fill that date if an event has been canceled and not reported. This rule will apply to all groups, commercial or local. A fee schedule will be enacted for the various venues in the facility open for rental. These spaces would include but not be limited to; the main stage and auditorium, the Green Room, dressing rooms that may be used for music practice etc., the Lobby Theater Space for small groups or recitals, the scene dock which may be used for rehearsals or classes etc. These fees will be based on the time period of use, the groups requirements of staff and equipment, whether for set-up, performance, rehearsal and other variables. The common charge for the main auditorium for local use is expected to be in the range of $1.00 per seat for performances (at this time, about $433.00 per day) and about 1/3rd that much for rehearsal periods and adjustable for load-ins and strikes. Prices for use to commercial organizations is expected to be approximately three times as much as the local costs more-or-less. Every care will be taken to make fees palatable to the needs of local groups and their financial status. Programs are being researched to help provide funding for those without the financial support needed to pay fees on their own. All of these estimates may be adjusted once a manager is on site and has assessed the overall cost of doing business and how the local programming will fit into the mix.

Does the Town of Estes Park support the idea of having a Performing Arts Center? Yes, resoundingly. The support has been most enthusiastic. The Town has agreed to provide the building site, infrastructure improvements (grading, drainage, utilities, parking, surface lighting and landscaping) and operating expenses until the Center can become self-supporting. The operating expenses are generated, not by new taxes, but by the funds that were formerly assigned to the Convention Center. That function has come to an end and those funds are now being diverted to the use of SOPA INC. Currently the funds are being held in escrow to cover the costs of the infrastructure improvements. Once the facility is up and running, those funds will convert to operating expense to cover any operational short-fall until the Center is self sufficient. The Town's support exists because the Performing Arts Center will be of enormous benefit to the area and the citizens of the Estes Valley. The Performing Arts Center will bring high quality local and national, professional and collegiate performers to Estes Park, and with them will come a great many additional visitors. A quite credible study was conducted by American Marketing Survey (a well regarded, national organization) which concluded that enough people would be drawn here to create a sales tax benefit to the Town of about 2.2 million dollars or more annually. This number is considered by the authors of the study to be very conservative. The Town also recognizes the more subjective value in having a facility that enables people to enjoy the arts and encourages them to participate. What finer project could there be than a building that complements the unique beauty of our valley with the opportunity to experience live performances of music, dance and theater of all sorts, whether it is ballet or hip-hop, country or opera, comedy or drama. In addition, SOPA INC will pursue an active theater education wing to encourage up-and-coming young people to engage in all of the various elements of the stage and entertainment venues. There is a huge interest nationally in performance education and Estes Park could be a major center in the development of this exciting, on-going movement. Get on board and send us a note! This information provided by Bob Gunn, SOPA board member and Greig Steiner, Contract Coordinator

What has happened to the FOSH (Friends Of Stanley Hall) funds? The Friends Of Stanley Hall Board was convened by order of the Mayor of Estes Park in------. A board of 12 members was organized to begin a fundraising group to remodel the Stanley Music Hall into a theater for the town. There were a number of successful fundraising events such as fine arts auctions, dinners and lots of personal meetings to ask for gifts to this cause. A major amount of money was raised including several large foundation grants. Because of a variety of reasons the Stanley Hall was withdrawn from use of the FOSH group and the project was dropped. In the long run it was a good thing that happened. The building turned out to be a completely protected historical site and it would have been difficult to create an adequate theater within its present footprint. Additions were disallowed by the Historical Society making it impossible to build a much needed stage house to the building for large productions. The fire department entered into the equation as well and informed the FOSH board know that the occupancy limits would be cut drastically, making the site even more fiscally inappropriate for the expected use. The many contributors to the fund were very disappointed, as were the members of the FOSH Board and all its committees at this turn of events. The Board was put in an awkward position in trying to deal with the funds that had been raised in cash and pledges. The cash could not be returned to the donors legally as the funds were tax deductible and refunds were not viable. The Board was further saddened by the necessity of having to give up the pledges of several hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been raised through foundations and corporations, all of which disappeared due to the loss of a contracted space. The cash funds could not be kept on hand by the Board indefinitely without spending it on the project for which it was raised as FOSH was a 501(c)3 organization. Funds that are held in these circumstances are taxable as income and the loss to taxes would have been critical and not in keeping with the fiduciary responsibility of the Board. The funds could legally be distributed in one way or another to other like minded 501(c)3 organizations to be used for theatrical/musical purposes, but this was also not seen as the best use of the money. If this had happened, eventually the money would be disbursed and no theater building would ever come of it. The final decision to turn the money over to the town, to be held in a special, interest-bearing fund, with the sole purpose of building a theater in Estes Park, was taken and in 2002 and the money has been gaining interest since that time. These funds have proven to be the greatest boon as seed money to the new push by the Supporters Of The Performing Arts Inc (SOPA INC) to build a new theater. The initial deposit to this fund, held by the Town of Estes Park, was $475,435.00. This has produced interest totaling $92,392.00 to date, resulting in a 19.43% increase to the fund. The fund has fed the needs of the newly organized SOPA INC Board to pay for required feasibility studies, design and architectural studies, preliminary plans and other costs pertinent to the building of a new Performing Arts Center in Estes Park. Expenses have amounted to $112,445.00 from the FOSH fund to date, meaning that only about $20,000.00 has been spent from the principal, which should be recovered in the next year. Without these funds the project would be years further behind in its organization and planning. SOPA INC owes a great to the people who gave to the FOSH fund, and they may be understandably proud of their gifts, the use to which they have been put, and their ongoing investment in a badly needed, production style theater capable of hosting music, theater, dance and many other events for our town. Information provided by Greig Steiner - Contract Coordinator for SOPA INC.

Why did you choose the corner of Manford Avenue and Community Drive for the location of the theater? The Manford and Community Drive location was one of several that were under consideration for the Performing Arts Center (PAC). There were questions about the viability of other locations such as adding too much traffic to the center of the Town at peak hours, access, and additional parking restrictions. The SOPA, Inc., Board was delighted with the location when the Town offered this building site, valued at $250,000, for a performing arts center (PAC) A major advantage is that the community is free to build what it likes without restrictionsrequired by the Stanley bequest as this section was not part of that original gift. The dilapidated horse barns that now grace the property in question will be demolished to accommodate the new PAC so one can visualize many advantages on the site. The location is easy to find, close to the schools and open to expansion. Because of the advantageous location, patrons will have access from all directions. Conventioneers can walk over from the Conference Center at the Holiday Inn where they have been in meetings all day. The many visitors to the actual Fairgrounds are even closer and very likely to be grateful for a cool and pleasant facility for some of their events away from the sun or wind.Consider the traffic coming in from Highway 34 or Hwy 36 just to see a performance at the PAC by the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra or by some other well-known performers with direct access off of HWY 36. If they come in for an afternoon of shopping in Estes Park and then stay for dinner, they can park in the 600-space parking lot at the PAC; take the shuttle into town; walk the length of Elkhorn; eat there or again take the shuttle to one of the out-lying restaurants; and then shuttle back to the evening performance before collecting their cars to go home in. And, finally, consider the summer tourists who come through on their way to Rocky Mountain National Park. After a day of sight-seeing, they are ready to drive just a few blocks to the PAC, where they can relax and enjoy a well-staged show in air-conditioned comfort. In addition the PAC site’s proximity to the schools makes it possible to visualize a whole performing arts campus from the Bobcat Football field to the new grandstands and from Brodie Avenue to the causeway. This was exactly what the Rocky Mountain Suzuki Institute was looking for in 2003 when its managers measured our school facilities for their large summer music camp. Since they hold several workshops simultaneously, they need several suitable stages and classrooms as well as evening performance spaces. Unfortunately the Suzuki planners took all of those aspiring young musicians and their families to Beaver Creek instead. However, there are various children’s theater groups who would still like to set up a campus here as well as some of the high-school music-camp organizers who bring in bands and choruses from several schools at a time. Another advantage is the generous room for expansion around the building. Although the present design for a 433-seat PAC with no extras is what the American Marketing Survey recommends for Estes Park, the PAC can grow as Estes Park grows. Local arts leaders have asked for more rehearsal space; more storage space; more office space; a black-box theater; a sculpture garden; and an art museum. SOPA’s present goal of raising $5M simply will not build a PAC that includes all of those things. By looking at the site map on the website at http://www.estesparktheater.com, one can see that the site on the corner of Manford and Community Drive leaves plenty of room to make these additions later. The longest journey begins with the first step. Together, the Town, SOPA, and the great many grass-roots donors who have already contributed both to the FOSH campaign and to the SOPA Campaign have made that first step. As Chris Wood, the SOPA Capital Campaign Chairman keeps saying, “Let us move forward positively with a common goal.” Please keep on moving forward one step at a time. Send your further contributions to SOPA’s P.O. Box 3077.

How is the management of the facility going to be handled? Many townsfolk have asked what the operational philosophy of the Estes Park Performing Arts Center (PAC) will consist of. This is one of the most important questions about the Center in that it will affect everyone who chooses to use the facility, whether local or from out of town. The SOPA INC board of directors will search for a professional person with the proper managerial skills in: booking a theater, managing the theater schedule and personnel, who is capable of instituting and carrying on a variety of programs that fit the site, who will maintain quality programming throughout the year. The manager will be expected to have a background in theater arts that is heavy in the managerial spectrum. This person will be in place approximately a year in advance of an opening date for the PAC in order to have bookings established for the impending first season. Any theater must have booking capabilities for three to five years in advance to ensure the fullest usage possible. There has been concern that with the summer programming period being of great importance to the success of the center there will be scant time for local organizations to use the facility during this time. It will be a part of the manager's job to see that there is a reasonable balance between the different aspects of local and out of town users of the venues available. A plan to allow local groups or individual entrepreneurs to pre-book time and venue slots that is fair to all has already been examined and will ensure the use of facilities to those who are properly registered into the system. There is a variety of different spaces available for large performance, rehearsal, staging areas for large groups, intimate settings for smaller groups, space for small meetings of the groups who will use the facilities and other uses that have not come to light at this time. Since most local users are not producing in the summer months the booking schedule won't necessarily affect them and, for those who traditionally do book in summer, there will be accommodation made to see that their time schedules are adhered to. Un-booked dates or times may be booked in any venue, at any time, throughout the year on application to the manager. The manager will have three time slots for bookings for each area per day: morning for use of classes, lectures, meetings, rehearsals and other related events. afternoon for general performances on the main stage, children's theater/music, theater/music classes, rehearsals, performances related to the surrounding rodeo grounds events, meetings. evening for professional events including theater, music, dance, lectures and anything that may present itself. With the technical capabilities that are planned for the center, several large events may be handled on any given day allowing for re-setting of curtains, back-drops, furniture and settings. Several venues may be in use at the same time as well such as a children's group or reading group at the same time as a rehearsal for either music, theater or dance based on the current needs. As with most community operated facilities of this sort, there will be a number of opportunities for volunteers in variety of areas who are capable of helping shift scenery, re-set curtains and drops, move furniture for different venues, act as ushers and other staffing jobs. A professional technical director will be responsible, along with the manager, for supervising all technical aspects in the facility to ensure safety of participants. Please note that these are planning thoughts and will be amended as necessary when a manager is hired.

Won’t the Theater be too expensive to operate? It will be more expensive NOT to build a Performing Arts Center(PAC). Every year that Estes Park does not have a theater, it falls further and further behind other mountain communities in attracting tourists and art lovers. The performance facilities at Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Grand Lake are pulling tourists away from Estes Park even as we speak. For instance, Grand Lake’s 176-seat Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater has been running at 95% capacity every summer. By contrast, the report from the December 2009 American Marketing Survey estimates that a new 433-seat performing arts center will generate an increase of $2.2M in the Estes Park economy plus sales taxes annually. This increase will occur primarily in the lodging, restaurant and shopping businesses. The three and a half million tourists who pass through Rocky Mountain National Park every year will be tempted to stay overnight, or even for several nights, in order to see the high quality shows consistently programmed at an easily accessible, central location, i.e., our new PAC. SOPA plans to hire a professional manager who can develop summer repertory theater similar to the one in Grand Lake, to bring acts into the community on a year around basis, producing a variety of music, dance, theater and educational opportunities so that tourists will stay in Estes to see a different show each consecutive night of their stay. To connect the local businesses with the PAC, the shoppers’ shuttle will extend its range from the Visitor’s Center, RMNP, and the shopping loop to the 600-space parking lot next to the PAC on the corner of Manford Avenue and Community Drive. While summer visitors will contribute to the bulk of the operating expenses for the PAC’s year-round programming, the drama and music department chairpersons from the surrounding universities have assured Campaign Coordinator Chris Wood that they are eager to schedule their student events at a suitable venue in Estes Park as well when the theater is completed. These events would occur during the academic year. Add to that, events offered by the artists who are already performing at Lincoln Center in Fort Collins and the Monfort Concert Hall in Greeley among other venues, and we will have a full year of entertainment plus enough income to subsidize the local performing arts groups who need to rent the PAC at reduced rates. “If we build it, they will come.” No, let’s say, “When we build it…” You may help by sending your contributions to SOPA at P.O. Box 3077, Estes Park, CO 80517. This information has been provided by Lynette Johnson - SOPA INC. - Secretary

Can I make a tax deductible gift to SOPA from my IRA? If you're at least 70 ½, it's a breeze! As part of the stimulus bill, Congress extended the unique provision of the 2006 Pension Protection Act that allows anyone over 70 ½ to transfer up to $100,000 from their regular or Roth IRA without tax consequences. In other words, you neither report the rollover as income or take the rollover as a deduction. Just remember one important point – the gift must go directly from your IRA to SOPA – you cannot take out the cash and then send SOPA a check. Of course, nothing is to stop you from gifting more than $100,000 but any excess over that amount must be reported as income and then taken as a charitable deduction. If you're younger than 70 ½, you can still make a gift, actually of any size, from your IRA. However, you must report the gift as ordinary income and then take the full amount as a charitable deduction. Charitable deductions are limited to 50% of your Adjusted Gross Income (line 38 on your Form 1040) in any given tax year. However, If you have an excess over the 50%, you are allowed to carry it forward for up to 5 years. So, in general, the larger your gift, the more you may reduce your taxes for several years in the future! See your tax accountant, financial planner or legal counselor for details. But hurry, unless Congress gets generous, the rollover provision runs out on December 31, 2009. This information has been provided by Jerry Rutledge - SOPA INC - Chairman of the Board To submit a question Contact SOPA INC at info@estesparktheater.com - Phone: 970-481-6630 - P.O. Box 3077-Estes Park-Colo-80517