Passage Theatre seeks community support

Dear Theatre Lovers,

We’re writing to you as a valued supporter of Passage, and want you to know some important news first. In the next day we will be reaching out to the public to ask for help. We have a cash-flow crisis that will force the theatre to cease operations immediately if we cannot solve it.

This is a short-term problem, but Passage needs to keep its doors open until the next grants arrive in late May. You can make a difference in the future of theater in New Jersey’s capital city. Help us build on our success by donating now.

Passage kept its doors open after the pandemic. But like many US theatres, Passage has found that familiar funders have refocused their giving priorities in the post-pandemic economy. A drop in both corporate and individual gifts has created a gap in Passage’s cash flow between April and June.

To prevent immediate closure, Passage is tackling this shortfall from many directions. Our Board and Staff are working tirelessly to reach granting organizations to see if funds can be released earlier. We have and layering techniques to create a one-of-a kind greeting card! This is a hands-on class where you’ll use various tools to create a card that can be used for whatever occasion you’d like.

May the Fourth Film Screenings. Thursday, May 4, 2:30 p.m. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977, PG). 6 p.m. The Empire Strikes Back (1980, PG).

Chess Club. Monday, May 8, 6 p.m., and Wednesday, May 24, 2:30 p.m. Join us for a game of chess. All skill levels welcome. A limited number of chess boards will be provided.

VA Benefits and Loans. Monday, May 15, 7 p.m. Learn about VA benefits and loans and how to fully take advantage of all benefits. We will dive in deeper into all the benefits of VA loans and discuss the top 10 ways to use these benefits for home ownership. Presented by Olga St. Pierre, of Keller Williams Real Estate.

Easing Anxiety and Stress in Your Life. Thursday, May 18, 6:45 p.m. Are you so anxious that you can’t sleep? Is anxiety stopping you from doing things? Is it starting to take its toll and causing physical health issues? A yes to any of these is a sure sign that you need to do something about it. This workshop can help you do just that so you contacted family and friends of Passage across this country to help us survive. And they are answering. can feel calmer throughout your day. Presented by Carol Rickard, LCSW.

But we must raise $75,000 before the end of May to ensure that we are here to produce our 39th season and beyond. Some staff have already been laid off or had their hours greatly reduced. The hard truth is we can no longer cut our way out of this crisis.

A state capital needs professional theatre. Trenton’s is Passage. It creates thoughtprovoking, liberating theatre that tells the stories of our entire community.

Recent seasons have attracted national attention, and several plays that Passage has created are going on to be produced across the country.

In this incredibly difficult time we are asking those whose lives have been touched by Passage, or those who love art in urban America, to contribute to our survival.

Staff and board members are happy to talk or answer questions. Reach out to us at admin@passagetheatre.org.

To donate, visit www.passagetheatre.org.

Book Discussion for Adults. Tuesday, May 30, 7 p.m. We will be discussing The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner.

Non-Fiction Book Group. Wednesday, May 24, 7 p.m. Join us to discuss Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder. The basis for the 2021 Oscar-winning film of the same name, this book explores the lives of a low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older Americans who travel from the beet fields of North Dakota to the National Forest campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas. Finding that social security comes up short, often underwater on mortgages, these invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands, forming a growing community of nomads: migrant laborers who call themselves “workampers.” open this summer. We are going to have summer camp like we did, except summer camp is going to now be held at Fisher Middle School for the kids, because I can’t really do anything on the ESCC site because it’s in the process of being remediated—getting the asbestos out of the building. And then we’re going to tear it down and obviously start the reconstruction of the building.

Sunday Movie Series for ages 18-plus: May 7: Spoiler Alert (2022, PG-13), with Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge, and Josh Pais; May 14: Terms of Endearment (1983, PG), with Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson; and May 21: Devotion (2022, PG-13) with Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, and Christina Jackson.

EO: Is that a total rebuild?

BS: It’s going to be a total rebuild. We’re meeting with the insurance company next week. They think we can save some of it, but the problem with that is—and maybe it can and maybe it can’t be, that was just one guy’s opinion—I had a building that was already stretched to capacity.

Why am I putting a building back that’s going to be stretched to capacity, because somebody says we shouldn’t do that.

So we’re looking to rebuild the building—make it a 50,000 square foot or somewhere in that area as opposed to the 32,000 that it was, so that we have growth for the future.

I don’t want to put up a building where we’re already behind the eight ball. It makes no sense that anybody, and you’re throwing good money after bad. So that’s where we are.

We’ll go sit with the insurance company. Will they give us all the money that we think we should be entitled to? Probably not. But they’re going to give us more than what they said they’re going to give us. In any event.

EO: Is there any kind of timeline on that?

BS: The timeline is now.

I’ve got the specialist remediation, and some people ask, “Why are you doing the specialist remediation if you’re going to tear the building down?” The reason is, if we don’t do that, then that whole structure is deemed contaminated. So that is a different type of process.

All the debris that comes out of there now has to be shipped to Ohio for cleanup and everything like that. And that’s an astronomical cost. I’d rather spend whatever it is—I think it’s like $100,000— now and just clean up what needs to be cleaned up, then tear the building down.

Now we only have to worry about asbestos with a portion of it. Not everything. So that’s the reason for it. It’s all about cost.

EO: So broad estimate—when do you think you could see another building there? A couple of years?

BS: I would think. Right now, we have an architect on board doing the design. They’re telling us that they can have the design done and ready to go out to bid sometime in August. I believe (it will be done) the early part of 2025, and that’s our timeframe.

EO: And the Hollowbrook Center has been weathering the storm in terms of handling all of the senior and recreation programs?

BS: We’ve been able to find places for most of the programs, although there were some we couldn’t. For example, we don’t have like a pool table anymore, although, I think there was a group that they found another spot that they could use. For the most part we were able to place people either at the Community Center at Hollowbrook or in other areas.

The school district has stepped up and allowed us to use their facilities for basketball and indoor soccer— which they always had, but they have had to expand that some more. And they’re allowing us to use Fisher for the camps, as I mentioned. We’ve been getting great cooperation throughout the community. Some of the churches have opened up their doors for us to do it, and The College of New Jersey has stepped up big time to help us. The Katzenbach School helped us for the basketball program and soccer.

I think that the community has come together while we’re going through this particular process, but it comes together for so only so long. If they don’t see any progress, then I lose credibility. And, people say, “Well they’re not going to do anything anyway.” No. We have a very, very aggressive time frame to get this rebuilt—or at least I do. Hopefully everybody cooperates and we’ll go from there.

EO: If not, you’ll just light a fire under their ass.

BS: I have no problem doing that.

EO: I think it’s something you specialize in.

BS: Yeah, yeah. I had the demolition guys telling me they’ll be done sometime in August. I said, “No, you won’t. You’re going to be done the end of June or the beginning of July. I don’t want to hear this crap.”

I kept telling them, “Look, guys, don’t use this as a fill in job for something else. This is not a fill-in job. Get it down. Get it done.”

The economy and municipal budget

EO: Let’s talk about one of the things that’s on everybody’s mind— the state of the economy and the budget. A lot of companies are seeing price increases from their vendors. I’m sure as a township, you’re dealing with some price increases as well.

BS: Our biggest price increase has been our health care system. So basically, our policy increased by a little bit over $1 million. It’s a big jump from one year to the next.

We are looking at potentially using other companies. But what we found out, and I’m sure it’s no secret to anybody, is when you go with different types of companies, there are tradeoffs for that.

The co-pays would be different, or the prescription plan would be a little different. Things like that. So, in some cases, it may not be worth it to change. In some cases, they’ll give us a break for the first year, but then they increase the prices the following year. One way or the other they’re going to cover their costs. They may let some of it go, their profits for one year, but certainly not for a long period of time.

We decided that we were going to stay with the state health benefits program, at least for this year. And we do have our insurance people, Brown and Brown, looking at other possibilities. But that won’t come until the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

EO: What does Brown and Brown do?

BS: They kind of look at all our proforma with insurance policies.

EO: Like a consultant?

BS: Right. Exactly. To also handle our prescription program.

Because of HIPPA laws, we can’t know employees’ medical information—like what medicines they take— so a third party has to do that. For example, reimbursements for prescriptions, go through Brown and Brown and everyone’s privacy rights are protected.

They make sure all our properties are insured. They’re reviewing and updating our cybersecurity, right now, because they cover our technology as well. We need to make sure we train people and make sure they know how

See STEINMANN, Page 8 to recognize phishing. We test regularly to make sure people don’t get caught. But that’s part of the JIF— every town is part of the joint insurance fund. There are 38 towns that are part of our JIF and they all have a broker making sure we comply with all of the rules.

So, we have those types of contracts, and they go up every year. Like with our health coverage, some doctors aren’t on the plans that other companies offer.

That kind of puts a burden on some individuals, because if you’ve been going to a doctor for a long time, you’re comfortable and people don’t want to give that up. We’re trying to kind of balance all of that out and see if they find anything where we would benefit, then we would certainly go that route.

EO: $1 million dollars is a pretty big hit to take.

BS: It is a big hit to take, and what’s kind of depressing, in a way, is that we’re in the same plan as the state has, and the state was able to hold the line for their employees and use some of the money that they had from surplus and other things. Unfortunately, they did not pass that along to all the other

We are here in a safe and clean environment for your Emergency Dental Needs! Call 609-454-6500 Stay Safe and Healthy towns and cities that were under that same plan. trucks. Now they’re on order, but we’re not going to construction until 2024. It’s a two year wait. So we’re buying a 2022 model, basically, and not getting it until sometime in 2025 or 2026. I mean, it seems ridiculous, but that’s just the way it is.

We had to eat all of the cost increases where we thought the state would be more helpful than they have been. So that’s been a little bone of contention. But we’ll get through it.

EO: What are some other areas where the town is seeing some increased costs? Because I know there’s supply line issues with a lot of products?

BS: Exactly. So, with ink cartridges, for instance. They’re small items, but they’re increasing. If we do some recreational stuff or buy recreational equipment, they’ve had not only big increases, but also the time frame as to when we can get equipment is longer. Whether it’s playground equipment or other types of equipment.

I’ll give you a perfect example. We’re redoing the firehouse on Pennington Road, with the banquet hall. We’re turning that into the new construction office because we just ran out of room. And we’re also putting in a new brand-new generator to power that building in case of a power failure. The lead time on the generator is over a year before we even get delivery.

We can’t increase our fleet, because we’ve got some aging cars that we have to replace, and it’s now seven or eight months before we even get the car. We can order it now, but the delivery date is that far out. Those are the types of things that are kind of hurting and also where there are significant cost increases.

EO: What about the 2023 municipal budget?

BS: We’re going through that process now. What I can tell you is that financially, Ewing Township is probably in the best shape it’s ever been. And that’s no small thanks to our CFO. She really has a pulse on exactly what’s being done.

Sometimes she’ll come to me and say, “Hey, we got to watch this area, we got to watch that area.” So, then we control how all that goes. But she’s been a godsend in Ewing Township.

EO: What’s her name?

CAUTION

It’s loosened up a little bit, but the last year we bought two brand new fire

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION AND ELECTRONICS RECYCLING EVENT SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 2023

BS: Johanna Mustafa. She’s really

Dempster Fire School / 350 Lawrence Station Road

8AM-2PM

MATERIALS ONLY ACCEPTED ON THIS DATE AND TIME, RAIN OR SHINE ACCEPTED ELECTRONICS Computers / Printers / Copiers / Fax Machines / Stereos / Televisions / Microwaves

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