The Inevitable Letter
With all the recent posts about what’s been going down with the Silver Spring Music Venue, I expected something else to come from Seth Hurwitz, Chairman of IMP Productions and owner of D.C’s venerable 9:30 Club. This will arrive by mail tomorrow to the entire County Council, but an electronic version was distributed this afternoon.
September 11, 2008
The Honorable Michael Knapp
President, Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
6th Floor
Rockville, Md. 20850Re: Silver Spring Music Hall
Dear President Knapp and the County Council:
While I can only sit on the sidelines watching the public outcry, as a Montgomery County citizen, I, too, am incensed about school fees, mandatory employee furloughs, police, fire and rescue cuts and I understand the complaints about increasing taxes. I’ve also read and am concerned about the State wrestling with a billion dollar shortfall.
So many people have asked me why the government is paying $8 million- $10 million in taxpayer funds to build a nightclub when there’s a private company, headquartered in the county, that is ready, willing and able to pay for what is a profit-making business, not a government service. Though it’s not a rhetorical question, I have no reasonable explanation to offer them.
It’s been nearly a year since I first proposed to pay for building the Silver Spring Music Hall with private funds, saving taxpayers $8 million to $10 million. In that time, the state and county economic challenges have only worsened, you have been forced to make tough decisions, and you face even harder choices.
The County’s commitment to fund this music hall is not a “done deal” without the Council’s vote on the Zoning Text Amendment. It’s clearly not too late to reconsider. You can still redirect millions of dollars to what we expect government to invest in: education, public safety, social services and transportation – not a nightclub.
My offer still stands to build the music hall with my own money.
Sincerely,
Seth Hurwitz
Your turn, Ike.
6 comments Digg this6 Comments so far
Nice volley. Do we think Hurwitz can get the Blair brothers to let go of their unreasonable demands? Can he ensure that the venue won’t be a lesser cousin to the 9:30 Club?
Maybe we can install a slot machines in the venue, and that would pay for the government subsidies.
Unfortunately, the demands from Lee Development Group are centered around county regulations – not anything Seth can really control, I would think.
Everytime I walk up Colesville, I gaze at the West side of that street and ponder how godawful it still is. I feel sorry for the few businesses stranded there like a Crustyburger in the middle of an ocean.
At this point if Hurwitz can get ‘er done, I’d be happpy. I wouldn’t mind a 9:30-style club. It would probably get better acts (from my perspective) than the Fillmore.
Gee, what else would I prefer to the Fillmore? Uh-oh, gotta sneeze…AhhBirchmere!
News flash: The pope will be a partner in a same-sex marriage before Seth would really build a club in Montgomery County.
You want something built, write the council and tell them to pass the ZTA and be done with it.
Mike
Why would you say that? It sounds as if you think Seth Hurwitz is all talk…I think a 9:30 type-club would be a great asset and locally owned and managed would be a significant draw. I would think he would be a lot more responsive to suggestions, gripes since he is local. Why import a national conglomerate when you have the talent locally??
Basically, the County wants a higher level of control over things than they’d have over a privately-funded and privately-owned concert venue. With Lee Development Group beholden to them, for both money and favors, the County gets what it wants, and probably what the County wants is yet-another frou-frou stab at pretention like Strathmore.
With a “MoCo 9:30″ what the County would get is Independent Thinking, which of course is anathema to the Nanny State.