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4 <br /> Based upon direction from the County Commission,County Staff analyzed these issues from several <br /> important perspectives including but not limited to: <br /> A. Compatibility with existing and future County uses/operations the proposed Cultural Center <br /> would create. <br /> B. Financial viability of a non-profit group given control of the facility would have to meet various <br /> aspects of creating a sustainable operation NOT requiring an on-going subsidy from the County. <br /> C. Viability and receptiveness of the Town to become a participant in this venture and assume <br /> some level of financial commitment and operational liability for the facility. <br /> D. The cost and type of modifications needed to bring the building into compliance with federal, <br /> state and local codes required for activities and who/how those obligations would be met <br /> E. The potential need for the County to use this space for governmental purposes in the future. <br /> Without attempting to (within this memo)summarize each of the relevant points within the group's <br /> strategic business plan, it is our opinion that as proposed it is unlikely this group (regardless of how well <br /> intentioned their efforts) will successfully achieve their desired outcomes. The business plan depends <br /> heavily on assumptions that are likely to be difficult to accomplish. There are elements of the planned <br /> uses for the facility that would/could conflict with existing county operational functions at the facility. <br /> More importantly,the County has heavily invested in this asset and potential conflicts of use could place <br /> that investment at risk. <br /> (These issues have been discussed with the group's leadership and they fully understand our concerns.) <br /> TOWIV INVOLVEMENT—Staff level discussions <br /> Overcoming some of the financial and liability issues that the non-profit group's operational control of <br /> the former Whitted Library space presented was attempted to be addressed via some formalized <br /> agreement with the Town of Hillsborough. Although no formal discussions have occurred among the <br /> elected leadership of the Town and County on these issues, town and county staffs have discussed <br /> various elements (subject to elected leaders formal actions at some point in the future). <br /> ISSUES: <br /> It is apparent the Town does not have available financial resources it would be willing to allocate toward <br /> this project beyond the$10,000 seed money given the non-profit group that brought forth the proposal. <br /> There seems to be some doubt that the Town wants to accept any formalized responsibility or liability <br /> for the operational control of the allocated space. (Reminder,the initial assumption under which this <br /> process went forward was that the Town and County would enter into a formal agreement where the <br /> space would be leased to the Town under certain terms and the Town would then allocate use of the <br /> space to this non-profit (or another) BUT the Town would retain the liability and responsibility for the <br /> condition, use and upkeep within the walls of the space allocated via the terms of the County/Town <br /> agreement. At the Staff level, that does not appear to be a realistic option. <br />