I posted at the end of other Patch's news stories that, as an attorney and HR consultant, I would not take Prasser's case. This additional information does not look good and confirms some of my suspicions.

FSCA directors--have you retained an attorney because it looks like you might need one before this is all over?

harry, the sun writer failed to include all the details... wait for more... friends followed protocol to the "t".

It seems like to me that someone had an 'axe' to grind with the Administration at the Fine Arts in Solon. This matter should have been resolved/addressed with the parties involved way before their resignations. It seemed to me that the Center was a way for the Community of Solon to grow in the Fine Arts domain. This area has many needs and very few workers, which is common to potentially have people 'juggling' many 'related/unrelated' areas of interest can get potentially and un-intentially mixed together.
With so many other crimes being done in our society, that leaves the guilty person with a mere slap on the 'wrist', I say... Deal with this issue internally, instead of in the paper. There are so many other 'pressing' issues facing our City, State, and Country. No one is perfect, but this matter should / could have been handled in another way. We've lost some really dedicated Artist over this matter. Mary

Situations like this is why so many people Volunteers' are hard to find, it makes people hesitant to get involved......even if it's a paid position.

What an appalling situation indeed. Mediocrity makes our Solon government much more comfortable when it comes to the Arts. The arts and government don't mix well. And a creative individual in the role of Arts director could not survive. What a shame! Karen built amazingly strong relationships with funders. It took years to build up the reputation and credibility of SCA to bring in donors such as: University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center ($125,00), Corrine L Dodero Foundation for Arts and Sciences ($25,000),
Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Grant ($30K+), Key Bank, Medical Mutual, Calvetta Bros. Floor Show, MP Biomedical, SS&G not to mention hundreds of personal and anonymous donations for a variety of programs. Karen became a recognized leader in the Arts community and SCA became such a credible Arts organization and attracted thousands from not only Solon but neighboring communities. Solon became a destination location for many Arts events. Clearly not what our city government wanted.

you are all so right! thank you for recognizing what the real story is here!

the arts center just got set back 10 years... maybe that's exactly where they wanted it all along...

Maybe not 10 but definitely 5 year. However, the debate can rage on about how much suburban city sponsored arts is too much arts in a suburb like Solon?

In Karen Prasser's vision it appears the sky was the limit. But if city hall didn't want that someone should have told her NO a long time ago. Does Solon really need programs like light opera or its own philharmonic orchestra? I don't know.

On the other hand was SCA's children's programs a good feeder system to the arts on Solon high school's stage? Probably. Do young children develop an appreciation of drawing or painting through programs like this? Yes? But should it be an after school day care program? Should the city be renting outside space (dance) for activities that were probably never envisioned when that building got converted to an arts center? I don't know.

Just because a smaller but vocal portion of the citizenry wants something does that mean the city needs to rush right out to offer it? Or what's left best to the private sector?

If there is a true demand for all this should the city lease the building to a group like the Friends and let them try to run it including any salaries? I don't think the Friends could raise enough money to do so without the city subsidizing it.

Just some questions to ponder at this crossroads.

If an employee of a company does not follow the rules, he or she should be fired or asked to resign. Here's another thought to ponder. Funders were treated well while founders were treated like &*(&(*. I thank the mayor for listening to our concerns and acting on them There is no excuse for bad behavior by anyone who works for the city. I hope you enjoy the design and accessibility of the center that we worked so hard to provide. I am a founder who helped raise 1.3 million dollars along with my fellow founders and we did it without a "friends group" and we were prepared to continue fund raising. I am happy that the "brick" sale has been halted. The proposed brick patio was not ADA handicapped compliant. Wheelchairs,walkers, rollators have problems negotiating brick surfaces. Right now, I don't care about the arts center funding at all. Also, all friends members should be Solon residents and that is not the case. It is a carefully chosen closed group and that sends a bad message. The center was intended to be SMALL SCALE FOR SOLON RESIDENTS as part of the rec. I would like to see the city spend money to fix my street that has some teeth jarring potholes in it. That's more important that opera or piano lessons. Monday, school buses will knock out the temp asphalt patches again. Our street was re done with faulty cement and it was never made right. Until our roads are fixed, there shouldn't be any extra funding for the arts center. Priorities, priorities.

Anne, does that $1.3 million include the half that Grace Drake "donated" from state funds? Where did the other $650,000 come from?

Anne, welcome back... funny, I was also a founder, and our recollections seem to be different. Senator Drake received over $300K for that building with the condition that it serve the county, not just the city of Solon. I don't recall you being around for ANY of the fundraising meetings in the beginning. So, do tell, how was the 1.3M that you personally fundraised for gotten? Because only $23,000 was donated from the city of Solon residents. Have you ever seen the mission statement for Friends of Solon Center for the Arts? Or its by laws? Being that the Arts Center is meant to serve the entire area, why would you turn away ANY volunteers that want to help raise monies even if they no longer live in Solon? REALLY? There have been many Board members over the years who do not live in Solon. Be thankful they care enough to want to volunteer, rather than sit on the side lines and complain... Your tax dollars have NOT been spent on opera or piano lessons, EVER! Get your facts straight.

No, you were not in our group. I was at every meeting, you were not.

That's right. My husband and RIck Mendelsohn spent a considerable amount of time obtaining grants and working through financial issues, all legal and above board. My facts are straight. Regardless, workplace rules were broken so an investigation ensued. You will have to wait until the official results of the investigation are presented to the public to fully understand what happened, just like the rest of Solon's residents. Meanwhile, I thank the mayor for her actions. In this case, it was necessary to back up before going forward. By the way, VOLUNTEERS WERE TURNED AWAY, FIRED and DISCOURAGED FROM EVER ENTERING THE ARTS CENTER. It seems to me that only carefully selected people were encouraged to "befriend" the arts center. Frankly, I don't care anymore. I want my street repaired.

I listened to the council meetings and I NEVER heard anyone mention the arts center as a county or regional facility. At budget time, only the city of Solon was mentioned. It was made clear that the arts center was a city department, not a regional arts center. I had serious questions about that friends group since they were prepared to fund alterations to the center that were not handicapped accessible, like moving handicapped parking across the street so a giant outdoor stage could be built. The stage would have reduced access to the Bainbridge Rd. door and the handicapped ramp. The stage would have eliminated adjacent to the building handicapped parking. Also, a non ADA compliant brick patio was on the agenda. It appeared to me that handicapped individuals were not welcome at the center. I blocked the effort by sending the mayor a copy of the ADA law regarding handicapped accessibility in government and public buildings. Certain people didn't like that, but it's the law of this nation. You know who I am, you know that my husband has MS. I will not allow his access to any public building to be tampered with.

I do not remember the breakdown of funds received as it was so many years ago. I'm sure there's a record somewhere.

Hi Anne,
I hear what you and everyone are saying, however I would like to mention that the SCA is just as important to people of Solon as the Roads, ADA needs, ect..... are to you, but in the end it all represents Solon either in a positive or negative way. We are all impacted, whether we are aware of it or not.
Our Government has rules, and yes we must obey them. There are many sides to any situation. I'm not sure what/why/how this 'situation' and what form of 'communication or 'lack of communication' that took place between the parties involved; but we have a serious problem here that impacts all of us here in Solon.
My hope is that we would all be considerate of each others priorities/agendas and find a way to resolve this.
In the end, the 'priorities' of an individual / individuals whether hidden or apparent will have some form of effect on our community.
Mix

queen- are you saying that the only things the city contributes to SCA is the building and $300,000 annually. And all other operational costs come from FSCA fundraising and fees?

Do you know what the average bottom line usage is between residents vs. non-residents? Not that I ever paid close attention (until now) but I did not know that a caveat of the state monies Grace Drake obtained was that the building had to be a regional arts center. I am sure I would have accepted those terms.

Is Fairmont Arts Center part of any municipality? How about the programs Orange offers?

No, Harry. The city subsidy makes up approx. 38% of the total annual budget for SCA. Additional income is generated by fees for classes, program participation, ticket sales, etc. The Friends group only helped fund programs above and beyond that budget. And I would say that the majority of usage (I think over 80%) of the building is by Solon residents, but its programs/performances certainly draw from all over Cleveland, which drives business to our restaurants, etc. And the monies from the state were for an arts center that not only served the city of Solon, but the surrounding communities. It was always a big sticking point with council because of the city subsidy.

As for Fairmount, I believe it is a private entity. Orange is part of the city of Orange.

My sister is children's theater director at Fairmount Center and has been for almost 30 years (except for a brief time when she directed children's theater in Solon which was a very bad experience). Quite a few of her students have advanced to Broadway and various tv shows. She is nationally acclaimed and has been written up in the PD quite a few times for exemplary work at Fairmount Center. My sister chose the materials that went into the refurbishing of the theater at Solon Center For the Arts. She worked closely with Mary Ann Hill Williams, the first director of the center to get the doors opened. Fairmount center is not part of any city or municipality. It is funded by individual and corporate benefactors. FC does have fundraiser and awareness events that are open to everyone.

Annie,
My street is fine, thank you. Sorry to hear about your street. I hope it gets repaired soon; so that the Carolers can come and sing in front of your house.

you sound very proud of your sister. i hope fairmount survives its funding woes and continues to thrive. they have excellent programs.

City departments are not independent organizations that serve the county or region. Our safety forces serve us, not the general region, same with all other city services and departments.

Mix, we got some of the bad concrete. Take a look at Forest Glen and some of the other ABC streets. Almost new concrete spalled and split. Patch doesn't hold.

Is it true the that moneys received for things like the orchestra fees were forwarded to the friends? How did you fund things? If I remember the Grace Drake contribution was 300K and the county supplied the funding for the ADA needs, ramp and elevator.

@Anne, you are so wrong about "carefully selected people" being asked to volunteer for FSCA functions. We have always welcomed any volunteers.

Here's the deal. I sent the mayor a copy of the ADA rules and she made sure they were followed. End of story. If the law rained on your parade, that's the way it is. I did not write the law.There are very specific rules regarding handicapped parking and drop off/pick up access. Failure to comply with the ADA law can result in a large lawsuit and fines. I have been an advocate for handicapped accessibility for the past 6 years.

of course city departments serve their cities. but if you use state or county funding, it serves the greater community. do you think only solon residents drive on solon city roads?

In my opinion, this is all moot (and how did this discussion turn to concrete)? It seems to be that the activities and program offerings are getting scaled back and the city is distancing itself from FSCA. You cannot be "friends" with someone especially if they no longer want to be your "friend". Until this investigation is over, FSCA is not dealing from a position of strength. It might be best to lie low for now.

Beth, get over it. things are changing. The county or state does not fix my street, never has, probably never will. I don't see friends groups for the service department, safety forces, city hall employees, etc. The arts center is a city department and should be treated as such.

You miss a lot when you don't live here and can't access council meetings on tv. You can't read faces or hear discussions and excuses. You simply don't get the entire story.

@Ann, try to restrain yourself. Ever since your sister was not rehired at SCA you have had nothing but negative things to say. It sounds like your sister is doing very well were she is. It's time to get over it. Life it too short.

@Harry, I agree, you can't be friends with someone that doesn't want you. But after ten years of raising nationally awareness and money for SCA some respect from the mayor would be nice.

and what's with this turning into a forum about street repair?

You've got that right, queen. How did that random thought slide into this thread?

harry, i like your logical thinking... do you want to join the Board?! Just one thing, you have to PAY to be trampled on and abused! LOL

queen, it's like I previously stated--at this point in my life what I don't need is a) an elected office to run for and b) another thankless board to serve on. Thanks for asking though!

I guess it does. If you are inferring that this behavior is coming from city hall or the mayor's office my guess is it because the Friends brought this story to the forefront while the investigation was still going on. See my analysis of the mayor above.

harry, you sound like someone who used to be on our board... ????