B\ THE CITY OF NASHUA "The Gate City”
Economic Development
To: Lori Wilshire, President Board of Aldermen
From: Tim Cummings, Director of Economic Development
Date: February/2020
Re: Project Status Update for the Performing Arts Center & Analysis of R-18-001
Purpose of Memo
Iam writing this memo to provide an update for the Performance Arts Center project.
Analysis of R-18-001 — “What Does the Legislation Do”
This legislation strikes the two-year time period for raising the $4,000,000.
Background Context Relative to Timeline
The following is being provided in an effort to give you a general context for the timing necessary to get
this project up and running. The fact is, there was a lot of initial upfront work necessary creating,
establishing and developing the differing entities that are the vehicles bringing this project to fruition.
First, the Resolution authorizing the Performing Arts Center was passed in the winter of 2018. From
there, getting the Steering Committee populated and functioning was the next order of business and this
took time (there are many stakeholders involved). From there, the Steering Committee needed to
organize itself and develop a rhythm, which is vitally important for the project’s success and again takes
time. The culture that developed is one where the committee works and acts in a very collaborative and
consensus building manner. The Steering Committee developed three working groups focused on
operations, design and fundraising.
These working groups met throughout the spring and summer of 2018 and beyond. Simultaneously, there
was a public procurement process to solicit architectural and engineering firms along with an operator and
construction manager. This all occurred in the latter half of 2018. I would be remiss not to point out the
Performing Arts Center tour, which occurred in the summer of 2018 as well. The tour was a great team
building exercise and helped to educate and give a frame of reference.
We did not engage the architect/engineers and construction manager until the winter of 2018/early 2019.
Please remember we had the untimely passing of the Chair of the Performing Arts Center Steering
Committee, President Brian McCarthy, which understandably delayed some committee business as we
needed to reorganize ourselves.
Simultaneous with above, the Steering Committee’s Working Group, focused on fundraising, was
organizing and beginning to tackle the challenge of raising private money for the Performing Arts Center.
A public procurement process occurred in the spring of 2018 to solicit a fundraising consultant. Once the
selection was made to hire Full Circle Consulting, a fundraising assessment/feasibility study began where
30-ish interviews over a four to eight week period occurred during the summer of 2018. This led to the
recommendations and development of a capital campaign plan.
One of the more pressing items that developed was the need to create and organize a Capital Campaign
Committee. Recruiting and forming a Capital Campaign Committee occurred throughout the entire fall of
