ABSTRACT: The SUNSET CENTER PRESS RELEASE (December 8, 2010) entitled “SUNSET CULTURAL CENTER BOARD OF TRUSTEES ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING” and Peter’s Point of View: A Word from our Executive Director, SUNSET CENTER NEWS (December 7, 2010), are reproduced. According to the PRESS RELEASE, “a modified management strategy for operating the facility has emerged and will take effect January 1, 2011. Current Executive Director, Peter Lesnik, will shift his role to that of an advisor to a newly appointed Managing Director (TBD) who will assume an overall administrative role while Lesnik consults on theater programming and operations.” A QUESTION is posed regarding the management of the Sunset Center, past and present.
SUNSET CENTER PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: December 8, 2010
Media Contact: Christine Sandin, (831) 620-2077
SUNSET CULTURAL CENTER BOARD OF TRUSTEES ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA – Sunset Cultural Center, Inc. the non-profit organization contracted by the City of Carmel to manage Sunset Center, announces plans to restructure overall facility operations. With the tightening economy, the Board and venue staff have been busy exploring new business models and examining strategies for optimizing usage of the overall facility, including the north wing of the building that houses the administrative offices, the Marjorie Evans Gallery and a variety of meeting and conference space.
While Sunset Center Theater continues to be a sustainable operation in its own right, additional opportunities exist to develop the usage and revenues of the facility beyond the performances, and pursuing these newer ventures is a priority for the Sunset Center Board of Trustees. Concurrently, a modified management strategy for operating the facility has emerged and will take effect January 1, 2011. Current Executive Director, Peter Lesnik, will shift his role to that of an advisor to a newly appointed Managing Director (TBD) who will assume an overall administrative role while Lesnik consults on theater programming and operations.
Lesnik states, “This is an opportune time for me since I am ready to end my career as an Executive Director of performing arts centers. It has been 27 fulfilling years of building, guiding, creating and nurturing, but now is the time for me to select projects, work with people I share values and vision with, and focus on making art a greater part of day-to-day life for as many people as possible. I will continue to work with Sunset Center and help program the artist series and Classroom Connections, as well as assist with marketing and development. I have enjoyed working with the board, staff and community to bring the Sunset Center to new levels of professionalism while knitting it more into the daily life of Carmel and the region. I look forward to continuing in my new role.”
Jim Price, SCC Board Chair, said on behalf of the trustees that Lesnik’s leadership in arranging a diverse and popular series under the Sunset Presents banner is a significant contribution to Sunset Center’s program calendar, which has great benefit for the community. He engaged a large number of shows and worked to deepen the audience experience by adding special pre- and post-show events. The board intends to continue these events as well as to bring new performances to Carmel. The board congratulates Lesnik for his achievements and looks forward to his new consultant role.
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SUNSET CENTER NEWS
December 7, 2010
Peter’s Point of View
A Word from our Executive Director
Change is in the air at Sunset Center. With the tightening economy, we have been busy exploring new business models and examining strategies for optimizing usage of our overall facility. As such, the Sunset Center Board of Trustees and I have agreed that there is a concurrent need for a modified management strategy at SCC.
As of January 1, I will shift my role at Sunset Center to that of an advisor to a newly appointed Managing Director who will assume an overall administrative role. This is an opportune time for me since I am ready to end my career as an Executive Director of performing arts centers. It has been 27 fulfilling years of building, guiding, creating and nurturing, but now is the time for me to select projects, work with people I share values and vision with, and focus on making art a greater part of day to day life for as many people as possible. I intend to do this by working with artists on new projects, working with organizations who are trying to increase their cultural participation and by working with professionals to improve their effectiveness. This will involve producing new shows, collaborating with diverse artists and organizations, and working side by side with organizational leaders and their boards/administrations at expanding the scope and impact of their programs.
I will continue to work with Sunset Center and help program the artist series and Classroom Connections as well as assist with marketing and development. I will base myself on the Monterey Peninsula, though I will be spending more time in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. I have enjoyed working with the board, staff and community to bring the Sunset Center to new levels of professionalism while knitting it more into the daily life of Carmel and the region. Thank you for your support.
Best,
Peter
QUESTION: Why should Carmel-by-the-Sea taxpayers continue to subsidize a non-profit to manage the city-owned Sunset Center when SCC’s “organizational restructuring” involves a management structure not substantively different from that of a City Community and Cultural Department with a Community and Cultural Director, as has been the management history of the Sunset Center prior to SCC’s management takeover in 2004?
8 comments:
". . . continues to be a sustainable operation in its own right . . .". What???? That as a 100 percent false statement. Sunset is not sustainable in its own right, rather it receives hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the Carmel City Council -- and all 5 current members seem just fine with that, as evidence by all 5 voting to continue paying out all that taxpayer money. And where exactly is the search committee and job posting notice to find the best candidate for the new position? It looks like SCC has already picked the new person without any kind of transparent and open process. It also lends credit to the belief that this is all being done to make people forget the Rich Guillen sexual harassment matter by creating this new position just to get Heidi Burch out of City Hall. Crazy voters in Carmel keep electing people on the City Council who allow all of this to happen or who do not have the talent and skills to build support among other councilmembers to do something about it.
Carmel’s city government is looking more and more like a mafia paying hush money to city employees. Peter Lesnik’s consulting contract with SCC is Exhibit A. Exhibit B is payoffs to Margaret Pelikan, Sandy Farrell, Brian Donoghue and Greg D’Ambrosio. Exhibit C is $600,000 “settlement” to Jane Miller. It is disgusting to witness employees cashing in at taxpayers expense, keeping secrets from the public and in the end ensuring the continuation of a corrupt city government led by Mayor Sue McCloud. It will never end until Sue McCloud is out-of-office and honorable council members are elected who refuse to go along to get along, which is what we are seeing occur now. The mayor and council members are sweeping the Guillen/sexual harassment matter under the rug and the media is at the ready to assist and most Carmelites are MIA.
"Hush Money said" seems to think Peter Lesnik is a city employee and groups him with other forced out city employees. Peter is not a city employee. He is/was employed as Executive Director by the non-profit organization SCC, Inc. It's just that the non-profit is heavily subsidized by the city. The subsidies are to be reduced over the years, but have never been expected to disappear completely.
One of the main problems with SCC, Inc. is their board is dysfunctional. Thus, the great turnover of board members (12 so far in six years). Only eight board members left, one of them being Gerard Rose for godsakes.
Another main problem is continued interference by the Mayor--directly and through her point-man Jim Price. Price was to have been termed out and thus should have left his board position, but is still running the show for Sue. He may be the place holder for Sue once she is no longer mayor. She will want to run Sunset and Gerard and Jim are just the two people to get her on the Board.
And to top it all off, the Board has never seen their role as a fund-raising board. What feeble attempts they have made, sure don't appear to be very fruitful. They have made mistake after mistake which also makes future fund-raising nearly impossible.
There may be a time in the near future where the city will have to take back management of the center. Unless Sue wrestles it further into her control.
Anonymous is absolutely right about "Sunset is not sustainable in its own right, rather it receives hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the Carmel City Council." But that statement shows Chairman Jim Price's and SCC Board's take-it-for-granted attitude towards the city subsidy. They have convinced themselves that all performing arts centers receive taxpayer subsidies and Carmel taxpayers will be fine with supporting SCC at taxpayer expense forever, no matter the amount of subsidy.
By the way, SCC bylaws state that no board member is to serve more than 2 terms; Jim Price has been serving on the board as chair and member since the beginning in 2004. He should have left the board in July 2010. And the original contract had 2 renewal periods of which the latest renewal is the last one, 2010-2013. Change may indeed be in the air; Carmel taxpayers can end the SCC in 2013 and fund a city community and cultural department.
With Jason Burnett being part of a PG public/private partnership, he definitely has a conflict of interest here. If SCC's reputation is tarnished, then his own management of the PG museum may suffer. And if SCC is really scrutinized, then his museum may get more examination also. The other council members just follow Sue's lead, SCC forever and no questions asked.
I agree with everything Anonymous said except by Anonymous’ own admission Mayor Sue McCloud has total power over SCC Board and the operation of Sunset Center so, Peter Lesnik is like a city employee in that the mayor has indirect control of his fate through the Board and her point men Jim Price and Gerard Rose. Another similarity with the forced out city employees is Peter Lesnik’s consulting contract looks at lot like monies paid to city employees to leave city employment and keep quiet about what they know. So no one affiliated with the city, whether former city employees or former non-profit employees, is completely forthright and honest with the public. As a result, Carmelites have not to this day been able to get anything resembling justice.
For the person who says that Jason Burnett has a conflict of interest in Carmel because he is part of a PG public/private partnership is off-base. No way can you connect those dots. I don't think you understand "conflict of interest."
Jason has nothing to do with SCC, Inc. The management of a museum in another town has nothing to do with serving on a city council. I have actually been taking more notice of the PG museum since it has been turned over to a nonprofit. They have been doing a good job of refurnishing the gardens, bringing exhibits in, getting publicity--more so that in the last 25 years of PG running the show.
A public-private partnership must be taken on a case-by-case basis and one failure does not reflect on all the rest. Take into consideration the highly successful public-private partnership forged for Carmel's Harrison Memorial Library. The Carmel Public Library Foundation working in concert with the city of Carmel is one lucrative endeavor that keeps Carmel's library top-notch. You cannot say that the failures of SCC,Inc. are going to cause the library foundation's relationship with the city to be scrutinized.
You are right about the other council members following Sue's lead with no questions asked. Karen Sharp is numb and timid. You will seldom see her express an opinion without her looking for which way Sue's wind blows. Karen needs to leave the Council. She has been one of the weakest council members, outside of Mike Cunningham and Eric Bethel. Let's pray she doesn't run for re-election. And Paula Hazdovac will rubber stamp anything Sue will want to do. Paula is a mindless wonder.
Councilman Ken Talmage has been the lone council member willing to take on the city-SCC, public-private partnership over the management of Sunset Center with his comments about the unsustainable $700,000 annually from the budget to SCC. Time will tell whether Councilman Jason Burnett will take on SCC and/or entertain the idea of ending the city’s relationship with SCC and transitioning from SCC to city management. Because of his management relationship with Pacific Grove, he might be a sympathetic advocate for SCC, we do not know. Again time will tell. We do know he took on persons in then V.P. Dick Cheney’s office for perceived ethical violations and disagreements over global warming and climate change effects on public health policy, resigned from the EPA and testified before Sen. Barbara Boxer's committee to media fanfare, but he was reluctant to take on Rich Guillen publicly for proven ethical violations and a public lawsuit alleging violations of law and has thus far shown he does not have any problem sitting next to Guillen at monthly council meetings and working with a city manager with no credibility and poor judgment.
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