Timeline of THE MONEY PIT - GPAC Grove Project

[SandyMansel]

Brief timeline on the project officially known as The Grove at GPAC (aka The Money Pit)
1994 - GPAC opened
2007 – Smart Growth rezoned this space from R Single Family Residential to T5 Urban Center

??  Exact time The Grove project was first approved and cost estimates revealed.  Although I may have missed some other references, below are the dates I can find in BMA Minutes and media reporting:

September 20, 2017 – There is a photo in a CA article, published October 2, 2019 (link near end of this post), with the caption using this date:  “September 20, 2017 - Paul Chandler, executive director at GPAC, and Parke Kennedy, director of development at GPAC, stand in the area where Germantown and the Germantown Performing Arts Center will construct a new $4 million concert and events facility called The Grove at GPAC."  And another photo has the caption "A rendering of the plaza area at The Grove at GPAC.  The $4 million project is expected to break ground next summer for a Fall 2019 opening."  And within the text of the article it states it was announced in September 2017.  However I could not find any reference in BMA Minutes until July 2018, so guess I overlooked something?
 
July 9, 2018 – BMA Minutes – Approval of Warrants
GPAC seeks approval to add an outdoor entertainment venue that will meet their goals and needs for this site.  This requires 2 warrants - to allow civic space within an area not designated on the regulating plan and to allow architectural screen up to 10’ in height.

August 13, 2018 – BMA Minutes – Contract – GPAC Grove Fire Truck Turnaround – Installation contract with Barnes and Brower, Inc for $69,277 approved.
Within these minutes, the statement is made:
“GPAC and the City agreed to equally share the construction expenses of The Grove”  and says construction is to start in the middle of September 2018.
NOTE:  Not sure exactly when GPAC and the City made this agreement.  But, somewhere along the way, the agreement was made and the amount was to be $4 MILLION with City and GPAC splitting cost.

November 26, 2018 – BMA Minutes “unsuitable soils” cause change order and increase of $11,794, so $81,071 for fire truck turnaround.

December 10, 2018 – BMA Minutes –GPAC says they have raised more money and asks the City to increase the $2 MILLION to match.  This will take our taxpayer $$$ to $2,528,052.47.  Alderman Dean Massey makes a motion to defer approval of this item for 90 days, but motion failed.
NOTE:  Although I did not ever see this in any official discussion, $500,000 of that $528,052.47 increase was covered by transfer of money that had been designated for Exeter streetscape.   I received this info in response to inquiry about mention in early 2019 article about streetscape plans for Exeter.

April 26, 2019 – Media announcement that GPAC would receive grant from State of Tennessee in the amount of $2.5 MILLION to be used for The Grove.  So, at this point, $5,028,052.47 of our Germantown and Tennessee tax $$$ are committed to this project.
NOTE:  Many of us foolishly hoped this would be used to partially offset the City’s $2,528,052.47.  Shame on us for having such foolish hopes.

September 9, 2019 – BMA Minutes – Change orders No. 10, 11, 12 and 13, which totaled a $719,730.15 increase in the construction contract with Grinder, Taber & Grinder.
Alderman Dean Massey made a motion to defer the item until the next meeting. Motion failed.
Also at this same BMA, the professional services agreement (PSA) amount for contract with Archimania was increased from $397,332 to $433,981
Another post in this forum contains more information and perspective on this particular BMA meeting
http://germantowntnuncensored.com/smf/index.php?topic=47.0

October 2, 2019 article by Corinne Kennedy in the Commercial Appeal covers some of this timeline
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/suburbs/germantown/2019/10/02/germantown-performing-arts-center-close-completing-outdoor-venue-the-grove-gpac/2441561001/

Also found this article from WMC Action News 5 stating announcement in September 2017.
https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/36424956/4m-concert-venue-on-the-way-to-germantown/

So at this point, the total amount that we will spend to build an outdoor venue on 1.5 acres of land we already owned ??
More than $7.5 MILLION with over $5 MILLION of that being our tax dollars

[SandyMansel]

Latest article on Valentine's Day - GPAC at 25 offers "dizzying" lineup of national and international acts
https://www.germantown-tn.gov/home/showdocument?id=19288
Short quote of just part of The Grove comments:  "The biggest development at GPAC in 2020 is geographic. Construction on an outdoor theater with a food and beverage pavilion is on schedule, despite drenching rains this month. Plans for The Grove grew from a 2016 experiment: a food-truck-and-music night in the empty wooded lot on the Neshoba side. “We thought maybe 500 people would come and 3,000 showed up,” Chandler said. “Midway, we ran out of beer and had to go Kroger and buy all of theirs.”
With demonstrated demand for an outdoor venue, the City of Germantown contributed $2.5 million toward completion of The Grove, along with private donors. The First Horizon Foundation Plaza will serve adult beverages and food when it opens in May. So far, 19 acts have been scheduled for the spring and summer months.
The Grove will be only the second performing arts center in the country to have a Daktronics video wall capable of simulcasting the performance inside to an outdoor audience. The other is at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“This video wall is so high def, you can see it at noon,” Chandler said. Measuring 32-by-20 feet, the video wall runs back and forth on a track. It can supplement effects for live bands or be used to screen films about the performing arts. You might enjoy “Woodstock” or a Hollywood musical in a lawn chair. "

Strange that they were inspired by the food truck-and-music night which brought 3,000 people. So now we are spending over $7.5 MILLION to make an outdoor venue that will only accommodate up to 1,200 and not even talking the casual food truck and music type event that "inspired" the MONEY PIT. 
And we can't prioritize repairs to our stormwater drainage system, yet we are competing with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Wonder how much of the $7.5 MILLION +++ is going for the high def video wall?
And let's not forget that over $5 MILLION +++ of that total is our Germantown and Tennessee tax dollars !!

[SandyMansel]

If anyone wants even more detail on this timeline, there are several posts in Massey for Germantown that give much more detail.  Where would we be without the tireless efforts of Dean Massey on behalf of the citizens of Germantown?
September 20, 2018 - Provides first photos of trees being cut to start The Grove.
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1681845325271996
December 18, 2018
"Thanks to Abigail Warren of the Daily Memphian for covering Germantown. In a 4-1 vote the BMA voted to increase taxpayer funding for the project by $500,000 after initially agreeing to provide $2,000,000 for the project as part of a matching agreement that had GPAC funding another $2,000,000. The cost of the project has now ballooned to approximately $5,000,000 with taxpayers footing the bill for $2,500,000. GPAC will receive all revenues from the venue, so taxpayers will not recover the money from ticket sales or rental revenues. Taxpayers will continue paying approximately $1,000,000 for operational expenses plus the increased costs of The Grove, including two new employees at a cost of $80,000."
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1799578176832043?__xts__[0]=68.ARAoolysOfEblHG9w4gG-eRUxv7jckOkzYb8OycaXkxn5DBaZWHYQN5P_cX5ElJN95vl954_hzlGyKyc4geHW_1INL5CSGGifyMs8DDidbo5OlgKhiAUQcxJv4w5quBH9QuNzNpAB7n60_hCtkrbbDcCxksJP8piQv4sUVNjNKHNdK0MBh-KOvfMoeet-XXPZaVNTlW6rQySeePso-IVxQOEwLcStMGkILR7hOlXU5VrWPqDS3tVbigZga2JzDc9dGqeelJjcSHOS6m_skrJyiSQeRu7csPjhuL77P1FTI97mX8MALQvk8MEFZdlYLu1uXA3o88u9NK8FQTUc_psQPGI3Y1Y&__tn__=-R
January 15, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1838414019615125
February 4, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1866418906814636
February 19, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1888113077978552
April 15, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1962456003877592
April 17, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/1965234890266370
September 6, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/MasseyForGermantown/posts/2204134453043078

[SandyMansel]

Short video from March 16, 2018.  Still have not located any info on original agreement between City and GPAC for this project. 
Still looking.  If anyone else has found anything, please post here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qw0QtuttVM&fbclid=IwAR2eUDNR6wTFfokQ0JKT3mh-J_UuhsHi676-9bDRBGTmPswb-e7_A43y6fY

[Sandy Davis]

In this quarter's G'Town propaganda rag, the Executive Director of GPAC bestows his knowledge onto the rest of us dummies with life lessons about what 'he's learned'. Here's what he didn't learn....when your organization relies on benefactors, particularly tax paying benefactors who have no say in the matter, he should know that they tend to get very angry at seeing their money stolen and wasted. Anyone who can look at the Grove (and notice they didn't even use a pic of it in the magazine!), and see 7.5 million and 3 years, and think there is anything going on but outright FRAUD, really needs to open their eyes. This screams for an investigation. Yet, Paul Chandler brags that they "raised funds, designed, and constructed all in three years. That's pretty remarkable". I could have 'designed it' in 5 minutes and the water would have run AWAY from the stage! Thank you John Peyton for showing the pictures that they are obviously embarrassed for people to see. And where is the media? MIA.

[SandyMansel]

In addition to the $5 MILLION of our Germantown and Tennessee taxpayer $$$ to build The Grove on land we already owned, don't forget that we subsidize GPAC itself to the tune of about $1.5 MILLION ANNUALLY.
2nd reading on our FY2021 Budget provides the most current amounts and projection.

$1,293,400 - FY2019 Actual
$1,580,244 - FY2020 Estimate
$1,498,860 - FY2021 Budget

Link to the 116 page budget if you wish to wade through it yourself to verify.
https://www.germantown-tn.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=25429