WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The City of Bloomington committed to funding the Buskirk Chumley Theater for another year. The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission approved its 2019 partnership agreement with the BCT, on Monday. Redevelopment Commission President Don Griffin said the agreement supports Bloomington’s quality of life.
Bloomington Parks Director Paula McDevitt told the commission up to $74,000 in support will come from one of the city’s tax increment finance (TIF) districts. Changes to state codes governing the use of TIF dollars, will impact what projects can be paid for under the city’s agreement. The Buskirk Chumley Theater’s Executive Director, Danielle McClelland, told the RDC that capacity building projects – or ones that reduce operating costs – typically qualify for TIF dollars.
McClelland told the RDC that a financially-independent Buskirk Chumley would mean drastic programming changes. Despite programming and funding constraints, McClelland said 2017 was the BCT’s busiest year ever, with the theater seeing 287 days of use. Use remains high in 2018, with the BCT hosting events 4-5 days each week.
The city’s partnership agreement also provides $55,000 in operational support – an increase of $5,000 over last year’s allocation. That portion of the agreement still has to be approved by the Bloomington Board of Public Works.
