Policy adopted for theatre operation

Council seemed confident the procedures manual it adopted at Monday night’s meeting for the Townshend Theatre would “protect the town’s investment.”
Coun. Struchan Gilson praised the manual, noting it was up to date with similar agreements from larger centres. But Coun. Bill Martin expressed some concerns over its lack of user-friendliness, hinting the guidelines may be too restrictive.
“When you read this, you think, ‘Holy Mackerel, will we be able to rent this thing out except to a few key organizations?’” he remarked.
Community Services manager George Bell noted theatre guidelines like these ones were considered standard in today’s entertainment industry.
“The document was prepared with myself and the two main users,” he told council. “They think it’s necessary to have this kind of thing.”
“You have to protect your investment,” agreed Coun. Roy Avis.
Some of the major highlights from the manual include:
•theatre users must have–and provide proof of–separate public liability insurance at a minimum coverage of $1 million;
•management has the absolute authority regarding what areas of the theatre may or may not be used, and has the right to refuse rental of the theatre for any event, activity, or performance;
•users shall conduct the event in a safe, secure, and orderly manner, and shall remove all material and debris from the theatre, the parking area, and grounds immediately following an event;
•a capital investment fund charge will be placed on all tickets issued in addition to theatre rental fees and other applicable fees;
•users will have a 30-day period to pay for rental of the theatre after a performance;
•smoking in the theatre is prohibited in all areas (if the user requires a cast member to smoke on stage, the Community Services manager must provide approval at the time the rental agreement is signed); and
•only qualified technical persons are allowed to operate the theatre’s sound and light equipment.
Many of the regulations in the manual stipulate the permission of the Community Services manager or his/her designate. This caused some concern at first but Bell assured council it wouldn’t be a problem.
“I have a lot of designates in that theatre,” Bell said, noting he foresaw a lot of community involvement in it. “For the technical end, I will be relying on John Dutton because he has the knowledge [in that area] and I do not.”
Coun. Deane Cunningham, who was acting as mayor in the absence of Mayor Glenn Witherspoon, seemed to believe the guidelines laid out in the manual were a pretty good starting point.
“Once we’re in the theatre for a year, this agreement will be coming back to council just because we’ve been in business for a year,” he noted.
A full copy of the operations manual can be viewed at the Civic Centre. A rate schedule for the theatre also can be obtained from the town.