The Nolan Center, Wrangell's movie theater, museum and community center, is understaffed. Leaving the facility manager position vacant this fiscal year has been too much of a strain on the remaining staff, the administration told borough assembly members, who unanimously approved a full-time coordinator position at the center.
The change, however, still will be a money-saver for the city, as the coordinator will be at a lower pay scale than the facility manager position.
The Nolan Center generally operates at a deficit, with city general funds covering the gap between admission fees and gift shop revenues versus operating expenses.
While the Nolan Center is not expecting to see many tourists this season, Director Cyni Crary in her report for the April 13 assembly meeting said more help will be needed as residents visit the center in increasing numbers.
"The cruise season, even for small ships, seems to be dwindling by the day," Crary wrote to the assembly. "We can expect continued low visitation of the museum and lower sales volumes in the gift shop. The local community, however, is ready to 'get back to life.' The Nolan Center has an incredibly robust lineup of events scheduled throughout the year. ... Additionally, movie attendance is continuing to increase, requiring the more showings to be added to accommodate patrons while maintaining social distancing."
The center was left with two full-time staffers last year after the assembly decided to keep the facility manager position vacant to save money. Then in February, Crary wrote, the collections staffer resigned, leaving Crary and temporary employees to manage all the work.
"It's not a good business practice to have one person holding all of the operational knowledge," Crary said. "A couple weekends ago we had a disaster happen with the movies where they didn't send the correct key which
gives us access to the movie. So it gives you a big 'denied' message on the screen, and if I hadn't been there nobody would have been able to address that. I just feel like at the very least somebody else has to be available."
The coordinator position, as approved by the assembly, will pay $17.73 to $22.29 an hour. The job duties include managing center events, assisting with museum projects, and managing the movie theater, among other work.
The center's projected expenses for the fiscal year that starts July 1 are $432,727, which includes the coordinator position, versus revenues of $207,500.
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