Collingswood residents have questions about a historic theater. Answers are slowly coming
Paula Lara, the executive director and longtime employee of the corporation running the Scottish Rite Theater, said she isn't sure whether her job will survive a transition to Camden County.
Debate over the past and future management of a historic Camden County theater took the stage once again Wednesday, this time during a tense Fall Town Hall in Collingswood featuring both applause and groans.
Collingswood’s three commissioners answered questions for two hours inside the Collingswood Grand Ballroom, a wedding and event venue inside the Scottish Rite property on White Horse Pike.
The Scottish Rite Theater, which hosts everything from rock bands to school district events, has been the subject of public scrutiny for months as residents question why the borough has spent millions of dollars since 2003 on theater renovations, operations, and utilities, even though the property is run by the Collingswood Foundation for the Arts, a private corporation that had its nonprofit status revoked by the IRS two years ago.
Collingswood officials are currently working on an agreement to transfer responsibility of the theater to Camden County to ease its financial burden. If approved, the Collingswood Foundation for the Arts would likely cease to exist after more than two decades at the Scottish Rite.
Paula Lara, executive director of the foundation, has previously declined to comment on the Scottish Rite.
Lara, who said she’s worked at the Scottish Rite for 17 years, had prepared a speech Wednesday to address the controversy.
But the piece of paper stayed folded up in her pocket.
“It felt like it wasn’t the right time,” said Lara, who said she isn’t sure what the future holds for the Scottish Rite, or her job. “I mean, I hope I’m still here to see it.”
‘County taxpayers are taking on the risk’
Mayor Daniela Solano-Ward, who is also a commissioner, said Wednesday that the borough’s special counsel will have more answers on the Scottish Rite by Nov. 2, Collingswood’s next commissioners meeting.
Commissioner Amy Henderson Riley had previously asked counsel to determine the legality of the Scottish Rite’s management structure. At the moment, Collingswood holds a lease agreement for the Scottish Rite property through 2092, and has an additional agreement with the Collingswood Foundation for the Arts, a private corporation, to manage the theater.
That corporation was created decades ago by lawyers and borough officials, including Jim Maley, a current commissioner and former mayor of Collingswood. He still sits on the board of the foundation.
Solano-Ward said she’s still working to put together a list of asks for a shared services agreement with the county. The agreement would mean the county, not the borough, would pay for future repairs and expensive renovations at the Scottish Rite. Some attendees said that just means Collingswood residents would fund the theater with their county taxes rather than their borough ones.
“As I’ve expressed before, that really just means county taxpayers are taking on the risk,” said Kate Delany, president of South Jersey Progressive Democrats and a Collingswood resident since 2007 who has spoken out for months on the Scottish Rite.
In response, Maley said Camden County could soon benefit from a Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion grant from the state, the same multimillion grant that is funding improvements to Battleship New Jersey. The state is reviewing the borough and county’s application for funding in the CAFE program’s second round, Maley said. It’s unclear when and if that money will come.
“I’m sure the county will be working to get other state funding, other federal funding, other funding, to help reduce what kind of impact it has on taxpayers,” Maley said.
After failing to file its tax reports since 2021, Collingswood officials recently posted drafts of the Collingswood Foundation for the Art’s four missing 990 filings on its website. The foundation’s nonprofit status has yet to be reinstated by the IRS.
The most recent draft report lists Maley as the foundation’s president and Camden County Commissioner Louis Cappelli Jr. as vice president. Cappelli told The Inquirer last month that he hasn’t had anything to do with the foundation in decades.
Attendees demanded answers on the late reports, too. Lara said the foundation’s accountants were the problem. The CPAs employed by the foundation didn’t complete the reports, and when she replaced them, Lara said they took more than two years to finish them.
Lucille Diyoung, 70, spoke in support of Collingswood’s management of the theater as someone who has lived in the borough for decades. She said she saw the state of the 95-year-old theater before the major repairs funded by Collingswood 20 years ago.
“It was a hellhole. It was just unbelievable,” Diyoung said. “Just look at the lights. This really did need a lot of work, and they did [it]. It’s been gorgeous, and I’ve enjoyed it many, many, many times. ... I don’t understand the issues. I really don’t. It’s here. We love it.”
‘A breaking point’
The town hall didn’t just focus on the Scottish Rite.
Cassandra Duffey, the borough administrator, discussed plans to make walking routes to Collingswood schools safer, since the district, only two miles, doesn’t use buses.
Duffey said the borough, in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the school district, is working to apply for a Safe Routes to School grant, a federally funded program by NJDOT, along with planning improvements to borough intersections, sidewalks, bump outs, road signage, and add more crossing guards.
The commissioners also explained three referendums that will appear on voters’ ballots in Collingswood in November.
If the majority of voters say yes, one of those referendums would allow four Collingswood restaurants or bars to get liquor licenses.
» READ MORE: Could Collingswood lose Knight Park if its liquor ban is lifted? We dig into the ‘persistent rumor’
While the borough could handpick who gets the licenses, Solano-Ward said the borough is staying away from that option to avoid lawsuits from parties who don’t win out. Instead, the borough would distribute the licenses through closed bids.
Another countywide referendum would increase the open space tax by one cent per $100 of assessed property value to support the county’s clean water plan, which would cost the average Collingswood resident $45 more per year, Solano-Ward said.
The third ballot measure would support a $4.56 million annual boost to the school district’s operating budget fueled by taxpayers, after funding struggles forced Collingswood Public Schools to close Garfield Elementary School this year.
“We’ve done state incentive programs, the one-time tax levy, we’ve closed a school down. We’ve been doing our best to save as much as we can and to cut costs,” said Kelly Maia, Collingswood’s Board of Education president. “But we’re at a breaking point to be honest with you.”
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