RUTLAND, Vt. – The Paramount Theatre and Crossroads Arts Council are considering a merger that would unite the 33-year-old council with the theater, which opened in 1914 and was revived four years ago.
Officials from both groups said the combination could make a lot of economic sense.
Stephen Costello, a spokesman for the Paramount board of directors, said the groups could save by consolidating duplicate services, but that it was too soon to tell if a merger would work.
”This is all preliminary; it’s by no means a done deal,’’ he said. ”We’re early in the discussions. Both groups need time to study the proposal,’’ he said.
Costello said the Paramount board began looking into the measure a few weeks ago after being contacted by members of the Crossroads board.
Crossroads chairman Charles McCullough said members of his group had been thinking about merging the two groups for some time, but he also said it was too soon to tell if the union would work.
”Some folks on our board have raised the question, but we have to look at the benefits and downsides,’’ he said. ”The general tone of the conversations we’ve had are to explore the possibilities at this point.’’
The two groups are dedicated to bringing art and culture in the form of stage performances to the region and both offer educational series for local school children, but that’s where most of their similarities end.
Crossroads has been hosting performances at a number of venues, ranging from Grace Congregational Church to the theater at Rutland Intermediate School. The group raised $251,199 last year to support a $237,465 budget.
The Paramount, in its modern incarnation, owns and operates the stage on Center Street in Rutland. The theater’s 2004 budget amounts to about $500,000, said the group’s Treasurer Robert Schmidt. Expenses are paid for with donations, membership fees, rentals and grants, he said.
The organization’s assets of $3.6 million are almost entirely tied up in the theater itself, he said.
