[KHTS] – The Santa Clarita City Council approved a three-year agreement between the city and the Santa Clarita Community College District for the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons at their meeting on Tuesday evening.

The vote approved a new memorandum of understanding, or MOU, for the availability of the Performing Arts Center, or PAC, for the community’s use.

The Santa Clarita City Council voted 4 – 0 in favor of the agreement, however Councilman TimBen Boydston recused himself from voting to avoid a conflict of interest.

The most recent MOU was set to expire on June 30, 2015, but was extended for six months to allow the city and the Santa Clarita Community College District, or SCCCD, to finalize negotiations on a new agreement. The new contract period will terminate on June 30, 2018.

The new agreement is very similar to prior agreements, according to Tuesday’s agenda.

Under the new agreement, the city of Santa Clarita will receive four dates at the PAC per year at no additional cost for civic functions, such as public forums and debates.

The city contributes $75,000 annually to the SCCCD for each year of the new agreement set to expire in 2018.
The SCCCD will be responsible for scheduling the use of the PAC by community organizations.

Community organizations will be entitled to 21 percent of the days College of the Canyons and the PAC are open and will not be required to use the SCCCD’s box office services, according to Tuesday’s agenda.

However, community organizations will have to provide insurance specifying that the community organization will be legally responsible for any liability arising from their use of the PAC.

The agreement was shared at a meeting in September with representatives from four of the five community organizations that are hosting performances at the PAC for the 2015-16 season. The meeting also included city and SCCCD staff.
There were no concerns expressed by the community organizations at this meeting.

The Arts Commission recommended approval of the new agreement at their Oct. 8, 2015, Commission meeting on a vote of 5-0.
The city and the SCCCD will work together to coordinate cross marketing efforts, such as coverage of the PAC in the City’s Seasons brochure, street pole banners and various publications and brochures, according to Tuesday’s agenda.