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Tallahassee Democrat Editorial, October 16, 2011
Our Opinion: Performing arts center ought not be abandoned

A recurring theme in politics these days is that there are few visionaries or big dreamers. We're in the era of practical politics, which translates to short-sighted problem solving

Anything that requires a longer time frame to work out a meaningful solution — that is, after the next election — gets short shrift.

So it is worth pausing to appreciate the efforts of a community panel of civic volunteers who are, despite economic obstacles and many a naysayer, persisting in the dream of building a performing arts center in the capital city one day.

That first opening night could easily be a decade away, but Bob Inzer, president of the Florida Center for Performing Arts and Education, and his fellow board members are not giving up on laying the groundwork, if not quite lifting the first shovel full of dirt.

As with many community projects here — from the hardy Civic Center to historic Cascades Park, from the inviting Leon County Public Library to the winding Blair Stone Road — infrastructure amenities that infuse our community with vitality and charm are years in the making. And in the convincing.

Last week, a smaller, more affordable version of the center was presented by Mr. Inzer and board members David Rancourt, Fred Carroll, Tim Edmond and Jon Moyle.

Instead of the 2005 plan for construction of two venues with a combined 2,850 seats
and costing $113 million, the new plan is for one three-story theater on Gaines Street, with 1,800 seats and a price tag of $89.8 million, calculated in 2014 dollars.

Why 2014? Because that's the year that voters will be asked to include in our local-
option sales tax extension a performing arts center. An important part — and a key
to its broad appeal — will be its programs for children and high-school students, who
are receiving fewer and fewer music, art and theater offerings these days because
of state cuts to education.

That tax, known locally as the Blueprint 2000 1-percent sales tax, has been used for a holistic combination of transportation, recreation and environmental protection projects. But it expires in 2019 unless reauthorized by Leon County voters in 2014 — at which time all hopes are pinned on an improving economy.

Despite a 30-percent reduction in the center's cost, Mr. Inzer said plans are still in place for a "handsome" (if not world-class) building with terrazzo (not pure marble) floors, quality (but not specialized) seating and amenities that are "appropriate but not ostentatious." And plans are for acoustics that are the same level as the sound experienced in Ruby Diamond Theater, that beautifully rebuilt auditorium on the Florida State University campus that is fully booked.

That need for available space of a certain size and with concert-quality sound is the most important reason to support the forward motion of a performing arts theater. It would serve not only Broadway musicals, which deserve and demand a better venue than our Civic Center, but also local theater, ballet, symphony and musical productions.

The vote is still several years away, and no doubt many other projects and ideas will be in competition for funding by this extension of the current local option 1-percent sales tax.

But as its champions, its visionaries, remind us, local governments are about more than just streets and parks; they are to fortify the reason people want to move here. A community that offers amenities that contribute to the quality of life for everyone is inviting to businesses looking for a location, universities seeking to recruit students and faculty, and hospitals seeking to recruit doctors to enhance community health care.

"We can say it's a bad economy and we can close our doors and walk away," Mr. Inzer said, "or we can keep on informing and educating people about the costs of public improvements and how this will help redefine this community."

Today isn't the right time, but it will be the right time eventually to add a performing arts center to the city's cultural and educational landscape. Keeping this vision alive until the time is right is the farsighted and also pragmatic thing to do.