COMMENTARY: Closed-Door Meetings Common for Proposed Live Performance Venue in Williamsburg
HTRFA limits access to discussions, keeps plans for public project shrouded in secrecy
During its regular public meeting on Monday, the Historic Triangle Recreational Facilities Authority (HTRFA) once again chose to discuss plans for its mysterious live performance venue behind closed doors. Overall, this marks the fifth time the public authority has met in private about the project since the beginning of 2024, while holding only one public hearing specifically on the issue.
During that time, it authorized $1.5M to begin drawing up plans for the venue. But leading up to the vote, there was scant opportunity for informed public commentary. In fact, the authority’s leadership met in closed session at least three times before that decision without releasing information or seeking public input. Closed meetings are justified using VA Code Section 2.2-3711(A)(29) but consistently using them to avoid public input seems contrary to the spirit of the law.
Unsurprisingly, public information about the project remains hard to come by, but we do know the authority’s leadership was supposed to discuss projected costs for the venue on Monday. Of course, those figures were not disclosed after the closed-door meeting.
As a reminder, HTRFA was established as a public partnership between local governments to build and operate the $80M youth sports facility on CW land near the Visitors Center. Since then, the authority has been given broad powers to develop land belonging to CW throughout Williamsburg. That means the sports facility and the music venue could be just the tip of the iceberg of development led by HTRFA. Though the authority’s actual plans for the performance venue and the project’s costs remain incredibly murky, what’s clear is they and other local power brokers have already decided that the live performance venue will be built using public funds, without significant community input or approval.
Now is the time for everyone who has an interest in seeing how Williamsburg grows to let them know that indifference to public opinion is not acceptable. Acting like a private development corporation while spending public money is not sustainable. Public funds are not their personal piggy-bank. In fact, based on a statement issued by HTRFA themselves, it’s not clear that the needs of our local community have ever been behind this project. Rather, the document states that the idea originated during a tourism grant process in 2023, and was submitted by the contractors currently building the sports complex. One of which was also awarded the design contract for the performance venue. It’s all very chummy.
That’s not to say the venue’s backers don’t solicit any input, only what they want to hear. In fact, around the same time HTRFA approved the music venue design contract, the Williamsburg City Council voted unanimously to give an $89K gesture of support to a local group calling itself Advocates for a Live Performance Venue, ostensibly to study the market and economic feasibility of the venue. We’re still waiting on that report. But we already know what it’s going to say, Rah Rah! At the same meeting, Council also approved funds for a development consultant and a website. We’ll see it at some point in the form of a slick, marketing message to drum up support, Sis Boom Bah! I’m not an engineer, but that whole process seems like putting the cart before the horse (or perhaps it’s more like reverse engineering).
The issue raised here isn’t whether the live performance venue is ultimately a good idea or not, but rather that certain local leaders regularly attempt to keep their plans in the dark for as long as possible. Good luck finding useful information about the performance venue anywhere on the HTRFA website. For that matter, see if you can find much of anything meant to generate discussion with the general public. Or try a Google search if you like. You might find a couple of skimpy press releases (and the news outlets who regurgitate them), but that’s about it.
Finding information on a project that’s been in the works for over a year (at least) shouldn’t be so difficult, but that certainly seems the way folks running the show around here want it. Disclosure and discussion are not their goals — getting projects done is. As a result, the only sound coming from the live performance venue is the sound of crickets.
George Arbogust is Founder and Editor of the Williamsburg Independent. You can contribute too! Email tips and story ideas: contact@williamsburgindependent.com