Civic Auditoriums and Convention Center Commission Meeting 10/14/26

AI-generated summary. Written by gemini-3-flash-preview from the transcript below, which is the record. It may be incomplete or wrong; it does not report votes. Every item links to the moment it began.

The commission reviewed ongoing maintenance projects, including bathroom lighting upgrades and gym floor water mitigation, and discussed upcoming grant cycles for capital improvements.

0:40 Facility Maintenance Updates — Bathroom LED lighting installation is scheduled to begin immediately, and a contractor has been identified for balcony egress lighting repairs.
1:37 Financial Report — Members reviewed mitigation and restoration fund balances, noting the recurring $100,000 annual revenue from the Encore surrounding community agreement.
8:51 Promotional Video — The commission discussed a YouTube feature produced by a former board member to be used as a marketing tool for the theatre and Medford Square.
16:34 Friends of Chevalier Annual Meeting — The annual meeting was announced for October 22nd at 7:00 PM, featuring local program updates and a presentation by the poet laureate.
23:30 Gymnasium Water Infiltration — Severe water issues caused by a high water table have damaged the gym floor, requiring recreation programs to seek alternative sites.
27:52 Grant Applications — Community Preservation Act applications for building assessments and stormwater mitigation are currently under review by the city.
29:35 Project Status Reports — Updates were provided on stair carpeting, marquee installation coordination, and a diesel tank replacement scheduled for late October.
32:28 Organ Restoration — Wurlitzer organ restoration work has resumed, and the commission scheduled an open house for the organ chamber on November 7th.
36:01 State Grant Opportunities — The commission discussed new guidelines and upcoming deadlines for the Mass Cultural Council and the Gaming Commission's Community Mitigation Fund.
53:01 Meeting Rescheduling — The next meeting was rescheduled to November 18th to avoid a conflict with the Veterans Day holiday.

[SPEAKER_08]: All right, now, I wanna show you the agenda quickly, and then we're gonna, let's just go over it quickly just to see what we have. And I've got some news here on some of that. So today we're gonna talk about the account balances. Now, we've been asking about those for a while, and I'm going to show them right after in a minute. And we wanna go and get feedback from the city spotting thing in Medford Square. and then announcement of the annual meeting.

Some good news on a few things before we go on. David McIntyre cannot make it today. He was at a conference. So he did give me some information about the bathroom lighting. The installation starts tomorrow. And some good news of the balcony. Okay, the balcony lighting, which we've been pushing for for a while. David has established a contact report lighting. To talk about doing the balcony. Or it's good, they did our ceiling right? Right? Those are people who did the ceiling right? Yeah. Yeah, and then we have some other things about grants coming up and other things like that. So I wanted to start with, I'm going to stop this, I'm going to start by showing you the account balances.

[Unidentified]: So here they are, just so people know. And here we are, okay. So this is what's in the relationship value accounts.

[SPEAKER_08]: There's money there, as you can see. So why is this important for us to know? because as you know, all right, so let me sort of decode some of this stuff. The revolver, I believe, is a restoration fund. I believe, so I'm not 100% sure. I gotta check on that. SCA is, according to Ken, it's a signed communities agreement. Ken?

[SPEAKER_08]: Surrounding community agreement, sorry. All right, okay, surrounding community, I was wrong. All right, so we're one of them. So you can see there's significant money in there. And then we have the mitigation money, right? And when we go through it, these are the last three projects. Well, the third project hasn't started yet, but the last two projects. was replacing the digital sign, the lighting, the signage, and everything else. And there's some money left over from that.

And in the painting, there's a lot of money left over from that. So the thing about the, it's something we do not know. It's something we do not know, and that we have to do some research on, is, The money left over in the mitigation accounts, you can, I guess you have to give it back or you have to get approval for alternate use of the funds. So something we need to research is kind of who's responsible for doing that. We don't really know that at the moment.

But you can see there's money for various things here that, will be important later on as we talk about the other grants that we're looking at, that we would need matches. So this could be, so there is, in theory, money for that kind of thing here. So we're hoping that this, you know, Mayor Gates sent me this, and I hope that, and I did thank her for this, and I said I look forward to getting these every month.

Um, it's not a lot of money. We used to think about money, but it's it's it's money out there.

[SPEAKER_08]: I believe it is Cindy. I think it's that revolver thing. I'm happy to check on that though.

[Cindy Watson]: All right, because wasn't there some discussion that it might go from a dollar seat to 2 dollars.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yes, that's a good question. Did that happen? Does anybody know about it? I don't know. I don't know. Let's find out about that. So I'm going to check on the revolver thing. Ken and I speculated it was a restoration fund, but I can't say we're exactly 100% sure. But whatever it is, it has a lot of money in it.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: So that's related to the contract that's been pending for months and months, right? Exactly. Whether there's a, whatever you said, a $2 instead of a $1.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, that's related to the contract, exactly. Okay. It shows us that this money has money that I wasn't aware of the surrounding community agreement money. But I was aware of some of the money. So.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Or is that. I mean, I'm just looking at the numbers. Is the surrounding community funds separate from the casino mitigation?

[SPEAKER_08]: It is. That's the one we signed with Encore. That's what Encore gives us money.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Okay. And then they have to give everybody money through the gaming, through the taxes that go through the state, right?

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, and that's the one that has in the past had a lot of money in it.

[SPEAKER_08]: But it will have more money in it this year than it had last year.

[Krause]: The surrounding community agreement calls for $100,000 a year for Chevalier.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, among other things too. Some of the money for Chevalier, some of the money also goes to a community fund, which is given away as small grants to organizations in Medford.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, but so we've been getting the 100,000 every year since the, this was signed many years ago.

[Krause]: Since the casinos opened in 2019, I think it was then a year after it opened, it's required.

[SPEAKER_08]: And that money has been used over the years for various projects. And it looks like we haven't used it lately. No. But anyway, so anyway, this is the money.

[Cindy Watson]: Rick Cariello is still on that. I did text him. Okay. He's still on that committee.

[SPEAKER_08]: Oh, is he? Oh, you mentioned that, yeah. You mentioned he was, yeah. Well, maybe we can ask him about this, how that happens. How do you get in touch with them? And if you have an alternative use of the funds, how do you get permission to do that? Maybe he might know.

[SPEAKER_08]: Because I don't know. I don't know who else knows, but this, because I don't think we've ever been in this position before. So it'd be good to know how to do it, because that's a lot of money to hang it out, $119,000. You can do a lot with that money. Anyway. All right. So that's it. That's it. So let's go back to the regularly scheduled program. And where are we?

[Cindy Watson]: Cindy Eric was a former board member on the front of the valley and he had to leave to take care of his grandmother. So I got a phone call from him 1 day and I think he might have contacted Ken as well. You want to know if he could do a YouTube. on Medford Square, but also to specifically include the Chevalier. And that included Ken as well. So, he wanted to talk about from the present back all the way 33 years ago. I mean, Mark Yvreck was the founder. He was too humble to speak, so Paul Donato did. I don't know if people have watched it.

[SPEAKER_08]: Has anybody looked at it? Cindy, did you go on YouTube and just search for it? Is that?

[Cindy Watson]: No, you hit city spotting number two, Bedford Square, and it will come up. Okay. So, I think he did a great job. It's certainly a big bonus to the city. I sent it to the mayor. I don't know if she looked at it, but If she didn't shame on her, because. Can you start correct? Or are you still waiting?

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Yes, I sent you a message. I copied everybody a few weeks back. Yeah. I think Eric did a good job. And I think Kayla actually linked it onto the Chevalier Commission webpage.

[Cindy Watson]: Yes. Correct. Yeah. I just didn't know who sent that to me. I couldn't remember who sent it to everybody. So I'm glad you liked it. And I thought it was fabulous. next stop is going to be, I know Ken had asked me if ACM might be a possibility, but I guess his next stop will be Beverly. But he really did, I mean, he had to cut and use drones, I mean, aerial views, music. I think between Paul, myself, and Ken, 45 minutes, it cut down to about seven minutes. So, the whole thing is, I don't know, probably a little over half an hour, I'd say.

[SPEAKER_08]: So, is he going to come back eventually and do like another video for us at some point?

[Cindy Watson]: No, he's, like I said, he's moving on. He started off in Woburn. Oh. This is only a second one. That's why it's a city spotting number two. Got it. He's just doing this as a hobby.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: I shared the link in the, in the chat if anybody wants to copy it and watch it later.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: When we spoke, I think Tina, did Andrew talk to you? I think I copied you. You were going to try and link it through the Chevalier website. Is that correct? Tina.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Sorry, I missed that. There was an email request. to share Eric's, to share this YouTube video that profiles the Chevalier. And I think Andrew had suggested you were the person to make that happen on the website, on the Chevalier website.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that that went to me, though, because it should have gone to our marketing team. Did you send the email to me? I'm just looking for it now. I will check.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_00]: No, that email did go to Andrew and Tina, but Tina is not the right person for the marketing. It should have went, Andrew should have sent it to the marketing, which I believe he did.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so you think something's happening inside Blumenreich, but it may not have happened yet. Yes. To make use of this as a marketing tool.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Or at least to raise the profile of the theatre at any rate.

[Cindy Watson]: I mean, you know, I mean, as many places as we can, I'm going to, you know, get to send it to the city council members. I mean, it really puts Medford on the map. I mean, he did a very good job there. Fulton Bradley Day. I mean, you know, historic museum, et cetera, et cetera, all the things that Medford has to offer. And, you know, it's a hidden gem that not many people go know about, so I think it would be, I mean, more people should be watching.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, I don't think they're here anymore. Oh, there they are. So, Cindy, Medford Community Media is here. I guess the goal is to get everything on the calendar taped and probably archived. So, I don't know if anybody in Medford Community Media can hear me. behind all that, then this is a video you might want to put on the station, the cable station. So.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, we're recording this, so I just put it. So somebody here from Metro Community Media is here, but they're in the background, so I just Okay, I'm thinking that they should, they should be put on. Okay.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: They're chatting. They say they'll look into it. Thank you. Whomever that is.

[SPEAKER_08]: Oh, good. Good. Well, that's another. Yeah. Somebody shows up here, you know, started jumping.

[SPEAKER_02]: I texted Andrew about that thing. He's going to hop on very soon, but it sounds like they are doing something. They're going to post it soon.

[Cindy Watson]: You're welcome. Yeah, it was good. I think that, you know, Paul, you know, took time off. It was kind of tough coordinating all of us, but it got done and it got done. Well, and, you know, he's a state rep. So that helps us too. He's on the board. He's the vice president.

[SPEAKER_08]: Good. All right. Great. All right. Um, let's move on. So, Cindy, you're up next friends and should value annual meeting.

[Cindy Watson]: Yes, it is October 22nd and. Inviting many folks as possible. It's a fun educational night. People always forget that. We all provide services to the. I don't mention Boys and Girls Club in the Mystic Valley. Both Kevin and Debbie Emerald will be presenting. Bill is going to make every effort to be there. We have a little Jeopardy night, give out prizes. Andrew is going to donate two tickets to Engelbert Humperdinck. I got two gift certificates from the Pearl Street Station, as well as Barry Rafferty. He may not be speaking from the business perspective. We tried to, uh, you know, call, cover all the bases that people benefit from, you know, having the Chevrolet here. Uh, and people, I mean, Debra, thanks.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Sorry. Can you just confirm the location for the record?

[Cindy Watson]: It's right across, it's Maple Park condominiums. It's right across from St. Francis Church, and there's a visitor's backing spot. Last year, we got a couple of city council members. Deborah, I think you were there last year, the year before. Raul comes, which is great. Raul, I hope you can come again. Andrew is usually there, and like I said, Bill, I think he flew in last year from Las Vegas just to come to this, which was tremendous. And it's an opportunity too for people to sign up for, you know, membership. But Ken does a lot of work on helping, you know, to get the appeal and the annual letter out. So we, they would transfer it to me and we sent out about 150. So we do have to, you know, Increase our membership. I got mine. I got mine last week.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah. All right. Thank you. All right. And when I send the time, the time of the meeting. 7, 7, okay. 7 PM. Okay. 7 to what?

[Cindy Watson]: I asked Max Henning, he's the poet laureate. He was delighted because he doesn't really know much about the friends. So, I sent him some documentation as well as asked him to watch the city spotting. So, he's looking forward to coming up with a poem. So, he will be at the end of the meeting. Just five or seven and a poem.

[SPEAKER_08]: Well, it sounds like I have to work that night, but then come to the tail end. Okay. Yeah, the longer doors are unlocked. All right. Great. Okay. So, I mentioned some news earlier. The bathroom lighting, Raul, you were here when we mentioned the news that Andrew, that insulation, the LED lighting starts tomorrow in the bathrooms.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think do we have a timeline on that because we, we did notice I had went in yesterday and there is a dumpster. On, like, the ramp up to the backstage and. I just want to kind of timeline on that.

[SPEAKER_08]: You know, what I would suggest is to send an email to David McIntyre and ask him. He just sent me an email. I mentioned to everybody who was here earlier, he couldn't make it tonight, but he sent me some updates. He didn't give me a lot of information at once, but he did give me the highlights. Probably the next thing that, and I have a question for a rule after this one, but David has established contact with Port Lighting. We talked about that. That's the group that did the ceiling for the balcony.

So, I think that's movement. So, I will have a question for you and the last meeting. We got David to agree to look at it. I give you electric for a temporary solution. Did that ever happen?

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_00]: No, that never happened. So, I'm actually glad that something is moving on on that aspect of the balcony lighting.

[SPEAKER_08]: And we all are, I think we are, this has been a long time thing. So I think we just need to stay on top of that and see where it goes.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm open to meet, if ports coming in at any time, I'm 100% open to meet them and kind of keep myself included and involved in that project too.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, yeah. I think we just need to stay on top of that one. But it's a good sign that he's found someone to do the work.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: So port lighting is interested in doing the balcony lighting. Balcony stair lighting.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Okay. Can we just go back to the bathroom lighting, Mike, for a minute? Sure. The notes from last time around said that we needed to get the... David had said he got a grant to replace the bathroom lighting. supplies were in order and that the work needed to be done before October to get the incentives. So does that mean we're missing out on incentives or is there some flexibility there?

[SPEAKER_08]: Well, that's a question I don't have an answer for, but that's a good question.

[Krause]: Yeah, and I think at that, at the last meeting, he anticipated the work to begin, or the supplies to begin on the 19th. And I think they came in early since they're starting tomorrow.

[SPEAKER_08]: That's good to know. Thank you. Thanks. Okay. All right. Great. So that's progress. We're making some progress. Always good to have progress. Now that building is something, isn't it? Before we get to the money, Ken, do you know anything about the Jim Waterproofing Aurora Windows Project?

[Krause]: I have not heard anything more on where that stands now. Okay. Anybody?

[Cindy Watson]: I did talk to Kevin and, you know, obviously, And Debbie Amaral, they are looking for an alternative site. And, you know, she pretty much assured me they stay in Medford. They're looking, as people may or may not know, St. Joseph's School shut down, poor enrollment. So they're looking at that.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yes. Yes. It's shut down? Yeah. Yeah. I thought that was a healthy whatever, whatever school.

[Cindy Watson]: No. No. Wow. Geez. So they are looking at that as a possible option, but they had some water leak there last week because we had the monthly church dinners. Yeah, but at any rate, that was the deal there. But and also there is a basketball gym at St. Francis. So, you know, he could use the gymnasium there. So in terms of. you know, the other programs, they're looking for another site facility.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Is that Medford Rec, Cindy, or is that Medford Boys and Girls, or both?

[Cindy Watson]: Well, that's a pejorative term, I guess, in some respects, because that's what they call it in the old days. Sorry, I didn't get that.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: I didn't get that. I didn't mean anything pejorative. I've heard both terms. No, no, no.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: It's the rec department. It's serving kids and adults, though, right?

[Cindy Watson]: All right. He works very closely with Debbie and both of them will speaking at the meeting next Thursday. Okay. But friends of Chevalier gave them 2000 dollars several years ago because this happened before and for the water buckling and now we're back to. You know, stage 0.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so, I mean. It sounds like, given the- The account balances, you would think that there must be money to fix that floor, right? If we can get all of the proposals and all of the sort of purchase protocols done. Does this sound like it should be perhaps a high priority for the... I believe it is.

[SPEAKER_08]: I think David did say that last week. that the issue with the gym floor was the high water table. It's running, you know, especially after heavy rains. So, you know, the Chevalier is sitting on a lot of water.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: So it's more than just fixing the floor, it's actually mitigating.

[SPEAKER_08]: It's like a stream underneath it and in years past. We've had major flooding. Of the, um, of the, of the, of the lower level of. I think Matt, remember that video you did of Matt of the water coming through?

[SPEAKER_08]: I know, but it's still the same idea. There was still a lot of water floating around the place.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it was a pipe into the building that wasn't sealed properly or cracked, and yeah, it just became somewhere for the water to come in. That was wild.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, it was. But anyway, so Chevalier's had its share of buzz with water. That end up costing a lot of money. All right. Next thing on the agenda, we have the CPA grants. I don't know where that ever went. And it looks like we have Paul Ricci on, right? Maybe he can tell us where it went. Are they still open? Is that process still open? Did it close?

[Krause]: Uh, no, it, it closed the CPC. The community preservation committee is reviewing the applications. They do them a batch at a time. Uh, last night at their agenda, they had five, um, including from facilities, um, looking at the agenda, city hall, facade restoration, city hall, drinking fountain improvement. So the two that David McIntyre put in for Chevalier was, uh, the stormwater mitigation, which is part of the gym waterproofing project. And then, um, Uh, your conditions assessment, so that's what he did. But yeah, he did. Yeah. So, um, I would expect that those to be reviewed at, um, an upcoming meeting, you know, they get, um, usually. You know, a couple dozen of these applications, so they break them up to their meetings.

[Krause]: Generally, I recall they submit them to the city council December. I think there's a final vote in January somewhat in that timeframe, December, January.

[SPEAKER_08]: Okay, yeah, that yeah, I remember that the, the, the CPA. That project to do the conditions that look at the theater from the, from the inside out. Sounded pretty interesting. All right, stair carpet insulation, we have the money for it. Does anybody know if the work actually started?

[SPEAKER_02]: So, I guess I haven't seen anything, but I've been actively searching for it.

[SPEAKER_08]: We'll find out about that 1. We can make a note about that, that we need to contact.

[SPEAKER_08]: That would be David thing, yeah, to see when that project's starting.

[SPEAKER_08]: All right, here's something that refuses to go away. The marquee installation. At the last meeting, I guess, Andrew, the guy who was going to do it, he was put in touch with all the right people. Anything ever happen from that? Do you know of?

[SPEAKER_09]: I know that I was on an email with everybody, but I don't know if it went anywhere from there. That's the part I don't know.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Okay. He was supposed to be connected or he was connected with Kayla.

[SPEAKER_09]: Yeah, so they technically were connected on email. I just don't know what this person has done with that. It's just, I'm like three people removed from it. So it's a hard one. I know it exists. I know it's there. And I think it's, there's one, I don't know exactly why, but there's always something that's not gotten us past the first base.

[SPEAKER_08]: So Deb, do you think we have to get in touch with Kayla to find out where it is?

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think we'll have to do that. Reach out to Kayla.

[SPEAKER_09]: Yeah, I'll follow up with Bill junior because he's the 1 who talks to the guy that was going to do it. So, or that still has our in possession are. All right.

[SPEAKER_08]: Well, let's see if we can move it forward. Anyway, Kayla seemed like she had some way of doing it quickly.

[SPEAKER_09]: So, yeah, she was she's offered her time to make sure that it gets done swiftly. I do think if I don't know, I got it. I'll. Well, I'll try calling bill junior about it, but somehow we probably need to find a way to get. Kayla and I'm forgetting the gentleman's name right now. That was working on it to just be on on the phone together. So I think that's what we got. Once you can do that connection, hopefully that finalized.

[SPEAKER_08]: All right. So, um. We'll follow up with that. let's see, organ installation, annual meeting, November 7th, that's nice. Ken?

[Krause]: Sure, yeah, so the Wurlitzer organ restoration resumed today, actually. Our lead contractor was in California, had a job for a month, but he's back. He's going to be there today, he was there today, be there tomorrow and Friday and a couple of days next week, so we're plugging away. Unfortunately, he's lost 2 of his staff people. They were deployed. They're the National Guard. They were deployed to Laredo, Texas yesterday for 15 months to help with the border patrol. So he's going to be a bit shorthanded, but we're his his number 1 project for the time being. So we expect to get a lot done between now. And the annual meeting, which, uh, is at 2 PM, uh, November 7th, which is a Saturday and it's going to be held at the theater. So if people are interested in coming and learning about the project, um, Our installation, uh, leaders will be there to talk about what's happening, what's upcoming. And if people are comfortable, uh, going up a flight of stairs to see poke their heads in the Oregon chamber. uh, that'll be an opportunity as well. And the Oregon console will be up and people can take a look at that. So, um, everybody's welcome. Uh, 2 PM, Saturday, November 7th.

[Krause]: No, it's not playable now. It's disconnected, uh, from the, the, the winding source, uh, the moment. So it's, it's offline and we'll be for a few more months.

[SPEAKER_08]: All right, the other thing that David sent me was an update on the diesel tank. He talked about that last week, last month, and how it was leaking and causing quite a stench. So it's gonna be replaced starting in a couple of weeks, next week, 1026. So I don't know if you know about this, and Matt.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_00]: No, I do. Yeah, I knew that it was leaking. I didn't know there was going to be a replacement. The only thing we need to know is if it's going to affect the heat in any way, if it's going to be down, because obviously we're going into the colder months here.

[SPEAKER_08]: Right, right. So what I would suggest, Raoul, and you can CC me, so that way if he doesn't answer you, I can badger him. Just get his timeline and all your questions and ask all the questions you have. So I would do that as soon as you can. All right.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Mike, did you have a date on that or no? Yeah, 10-26. Thank you.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah. Thanks. a week from, two weeks from Monday, a week from Monday the 19th. Yeah, I didn't even know we had a diesel tank in the theater. It's interesting, you know, a tank must be very old.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, they actually took the tank out. It was, it was a few months ago where it was leaking. They removed the tank and I believe David had mentioned that. We have a temporary fix now or something until the new tank came.

[SPEAKER_08]: Okay, well, thanks coming to 26. okay. All right. Okay. Now there's some money floating around. So this is the MCC cultural facilities fund grant is the deadline on the December 10th. Uh, we can talk about that. So, can you want to start it off?

[Krause]: Yeah, I could just give a brief overview, maybe for people who are watching and unfamiliar. So the mass cultural council has a grant program called the cultural facilities fund and it's specifically to provide money to invest in cultural facilities that can demonstrate economic impact to downtown areas, businesses, and bring tourists and activity. In the past, the city has applied for a grant for the air conditioning and for facade restoration for Chevalier. There's $10 million available statewide this year. It's a competitive grant process where all the cities and towns are competing for the same pot of money, um, but they, um, can be used in three areas, a capital, uh, grant, which is for repairs and renovations, restoration, rehabilitation, and such. That's what the Chabalier two grants were for. You can also get them for, um, feasibility studies and technical assistance. Um, one of the things we mentioned earlier is, uh, uh, conditions, um, evaluation that, uh, David has asked the CPA for. So perhaps, uh, those could be, um, paired because this program requires a grant match from the applicant. So if the city wants to get, uh, let's say $30,000 from the mass cultural facilities fund, they have to provide 30,000, um, as a match. So if the CPA grant is approved at 30,000, um, this might be, um, an opportunity to get an additional 30,000. Now, unfortunately, the timing is not perfect because, uh, this deadline is December 10th and the cultural, excuse me, the CPA decision might not be, uh, in place then. So, um, if it looks like that is going to pass it again, I don't want to speak for David or the city. Um, these, these might pair up nicely, but that's an example of an opportunity of how the, Existing money that city has, whether it's a CPA grant or money in the accounts that Mike showed us earlier could be used as a match for a cultural facilities fund grant. And then. The last category is for systems replacement, and that's where the Cultural Council actually provides a consultant that will look at your systems to determine what kind of life they have left, electrical, plumbing and things like that. Um, I don't know if that's something that, um, David might find useful as well, but, um, the important thing is, is I think that we know about these and, uh, again, since the city owns the building, it needs to be the applicant, but historically the commission and, uh, BBP has provided input to, um, try to frame what the most important needs are for the city to apply for. And again, we have a short window here, just eight weeks till this deadline, but it's available and hopefully the city will explore an opportunity to get a grant through the Cultural Facilities Fund.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Ken, do you know if there's, who actually puts the grant together in the city, inside the city?

[Krause]: In the last couple of years, it's been Paul Riggi who is on the call, I think. Paul, I don't know if you're, listening or available to chime in on where things might stand for this year, if that'll be your duty still, or if it'll be David McIntyre's. He's not unmuting, so I'm not sure if Paul's engaged or not. He or David would be the one. Yeah.

[SPEAKER_08]: So what we should probably do, the commission folks, Cindy, Deb, and maybe get Perry involved, and also with input from everybody else, the other stakeholders, is to sort of make a list of things that we might want to see you use this money for. Clearly, the three categories, each one of those categories is valuable to all of us in a lot of different ways. It's a question of what is the most urgent thing that we need, whether it's something that we need to fix or something that needs to be looked at. And that's what's leveraging the, as Ken mentioned, the match is important. And one grant match, you know, using one grant to match for another grant. It's probably not always not a bad idea.

[SPEAKER_08]: So, I just think we need to think about it. I mean, the commission folks, we should sit down soon and give some ideas from our end. And other people can chime in and take what they know. Yeah.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Ken, for clarification, is the match for each of the, all three categories?

[Krause]: The match would go with whatever, yeah, it's required for all three categories, if that's what you're asking, yes. All right, thanks.

[SPEAKER_08]: Now, Ken, is there, what you gave us a good synopsis of what it is, is this sort of like, on their website, the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund, you know, more of an explanation of each category?

[Krause]: Yes, there's a very detailed explanation on the cultural facilities on website, which can be found easily at the mass cultural council website.

[SPEAKER_08]: That's cultural council. Okay. Something we should look at actually get a better sense of what to look for. So, I would suggest that we do this post taste. Now, the next 1 coming up is the big 1. The end that and then we have plenty of some time for that as well. So, but this is for the bigger projects. So, as you all know that we had the big projects in the last couple of years. And then we had the steer the carpeting, which is a smaller project because it wasn't enough money. But from what we talked to learn about last month from Ken was that the. Money in the mitigation fund will be more than last year. I can.

[Krause]: Uh, correct yeah, so the legislature re, instituted a portion of the casino revenue revenue tax to the community mitigation funds. The last 2 years, it had been reduced to 0. so this year, the total available. for eligible communities is $10 million, and that's double what it was last year, but it's still only a little more than half of what it was in FY25, which was the first year they structured this program as block grant. But it's a step in the right direction. So this year, there's $564 million available for Medford.

Last year, it was a little under half that. So, and this money, this isn't competitive. This money is assigned to Medford and there are 7 categories. in which it can be spent. Um, and one of them is a specific impact, um, of the casinos presence. And that is the category that Shemeyer theater has fallen under to get grants. Um, previously, um, the, uh, the one thing that's interesting is, um, again, the city is responsible for submitting this application. The mayor will reach out to department heads in early January and ask them for recommendations of what should be included. Paul has been the person the last few years, David McIntyre, I'm assuming would be for this year. And again, the. commission and, uh, BVP folks have, um, been offering, um, recommendations of what would be the most, uh, prudent product, uh, project to include and most, uh, urgent. Uh, but the one thing that, so they've streamlined the application process a little bit this year without getting too deep into it. They wanted to eliminate some of the barriers that, um, communities were saying, uh, were present and making a lot Less cumbersome cumbersome for applicants so the guidelines have been reduced from 35 pages to 7 and the January 31st deadline previously a city had to have all their. Supporting materials in place by then to make the case for what they wanted to include this year. They're saying there's just a 2 page project list that will give a synopsis of what the project the city intends to apply for. And then the staff from the community mitigation fund will talk to the city about those and what would be required to support them. So. it would be a little more specific in terms of what the cities are asked to provide versus sort of a guessing and what would help make the case. So I think they were getting a lot of information that was either too much for the staff to handle or wasn't really the most helpful or most relevant information. So that should make it a little easier for the city staff to put this together in basically a month is when they, um, have been pulling it together right after the first of the year. And then the other thing I'll point out is the guidelines have included a new category called economic benefit. So they're looking for projects again that will provide economic benefit to the communities. And I think that is really important for anything that Chevalier Theatre might include as a grant. So again, thinking about ways that will increase attendance. We were talking earlier about the balcony aisle lighting. If the lack of aisle lighting is something that makes people less inclined to attend a show at Chevalier because of the conditions, if that gets corrected and it removes that as a consideration that people might have for not attending, anything like that that can increase ticket sales, increase concerts and shows and comedy shows and increase events and increase traffic in the communities that is going to dovetail into more money spent at the restaurants and other businesses. So I think that's something important to keep in mind in addition to the specific impact the casino has on Chevalier in terms of competition for the entertainment dollar and perhaps competition for performers. Um, is that anything that we can show will increase, um, the economic vitality of the square, but, you know, through increased attendance at Shibata theater is important. So that was, um, I thought significant addition this year. So. The gaming commission voted to approve these tentatively on there's two, two week public comment period. So. Barring any changes that are requested by the public.

uh, these, these essentially will take effect in, in a little more than two weeks. The commission said they had heard from many cities and towns that, um, thought these were positive changes and improvements. So they're not, they're not expecting, um, you know, uh, uh, negative comments, uh, that would result in changing the guidelines at all. So I think this is what, uh, the city will have in front of them, um, for this round.

[Cindy Watson]: Well, that was a good thing about city spotting too. There was a small segment that included the fact that Chevalier does, you know, increase the economy significantly when there is a show with Chevalier.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. Yeah, we can incorporate that into, you know, as a link to the application maybe.

[SPEAKER_08]: Okay, yes. All right, so before we leave these 2 things. It seems we have a lot to think about in the next. Couple of months, um. So, we should really start looking at where we are and where we want to go and. I mean, that mitigation money is significant. When you think about it. Um, even though it's not for me, but it's still. It's still significant. And I guess, you know, to your point, can. And the 3rd category, I guess that that would involve some thought in terms of. What can you do with the building to increase its economic impact? So that's something that's that's a discussion we could have.

So let's think about these things the next, well, soon. Think about these both things and see what we might want to use the money for or spend the money on. Come up with some ideas and then maybe I'll agree on one or two of them, you know? So I think we should start doing that because we have the opportunity. We hate to leave money on the table.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: And do you still have that Google doc or something like that of sort of running projects or running needs for the Chevalier?

[Krause]: Yes, it needs a little bit of updating, but I'll be happy to do that and send it out as soon as possible.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so maybe we can build from that. In the last few months, we have finally closed a couple of our pending forever things, so now it's time to go back to the list, so to speak. All right. Good.

[SPEAKER_08]: All right. Is there does anybody else have anything else new that we didn't have on the under the other category and they knew where they're ready.

[Cindy Watson]: Yeah, I, I just want to ask Andrew or Raul, I guess. I don't know if anybody tunes into got a nomad fit. They give a lot of information, but I guess you guys had a. Show, or we're supposed to call bang bang and because the manhole cover exploded, you had to cancel the show. That correct.

[SPEAKER_09]: Yeah, that was probably bang bang. That was the, when the, the manhole fires. Occurred in June in Medford square was shut down. We had to reschedule the show. So, when it was rescheduled, we actually had a. A custom, uh. manhole cover made for them to commemorate them coming back after getting all the way there and then having to be shut down. So, uh, well, that's right.

[Cindy Watson]: Yeah. Wanting to mention Andrew, there was a very nice picture, uh, with the manhole cover and, uh, you know, it was maybe six people, you know, hold, and I'm assuming that was, I don't know anything about bang, bang, but the show. Yeah.

[SPEAKER_08]: All right. Anybody else have anything else you want to bring up? OK, now the next thing now, can. Since I don't follow somehow, I, I miss how holidays, I don't know why I don't celebrate holidays enough to really pay attention to them, but can they bring up. holidays. So can you want to talk about those and the other things that might get in the way of deciding when the next meeting is?

[Krause]: Well, no, I just pointed out that November 11th, which is the second Wednesday of the month when these meetings normally are held is Veterans Day. So City Hall will be closed and David McIntyre and Kayla and anybody else that works for the city would be off and wouldn't be available. So you should think about an alternative date. For the November meeting, so they can participate.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, well, we have 3 to other members here, Debra or Cindy. You have any thoughts on that?

[Cindy Watson]: Well, we're not going to do the 25th because that's a table for Thanksgiving. So the only other date, unless we switch it from a Wednesday would be the 18th. Yeah.

[MCM00001490_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, the November 18th is fine. You know, bringing it forward might be too soon. We may not accomplish. But we, as you said, we probably should be trying to come up, you know, review the MCSC and the MGC stuff and have some ideas to speak to during that session.

[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, by then, yeah, by there by then. Right. All right. I can pass on to David and say, we're going to move to the 18th. And let's send, we can think of the holiday for somebody. Yep, thank you Ken for letting us know. And 1 more before we leave 1 more plug. For the friends of Chevalier annual meeting sounds like a fun time. Um, it's in that big room that we met a long time ago. That yours.

[Cindy Watson]: Yes, can you fill out the, uh. Well, yeah, I mean, last year we did have some people had a stand, but that's all right. I'd rather have that. We do provide food and drinks.

[SPEAKER_08]: Okay. All right. Well, sounds like a good time and it's an important thing. And we have to say without the friends of the Chevalier, the Chevalier probably would not be here. I think that's a pretty good. I think that's no, thank you. Truthful. I think that's very truthful. All right. And then, of course, the meeting November 7th for the Oregon and all you great people who want to climb all the way to the top of the place.

Um, anyway, all right, so, um, I'm going to let you all go. It's a very nice meeting. Thank you all for coming. Uh, so what are the charges for this month? It's not thinking of projects, everybody's end, you know, no matter who you are, the commission will think of some stuff and BP will think of stuff and, uh, friends of Chevalier people will think of stuff. Um, so we can get a list together. Um, so we want to be driving the bus here, guys. Uh, All right, I'll let you go and dress warm on the weekend because it's going to be winter.