The Sterling Opera House on Elizabeth Street in Derby.
DERBY – There are trust issues between Mayor Joseph DiMartino’s administration and a group trying to get the renovation of the Sterling Opera House off the ground.
Members of the Sterling Opera House Commission – established during former Mayor Richard Dziekan’s administration – say local government has failed to match their enthusiasm for the project. Mayor DiMartino’s administration denies this, and says it is trying to ensure the commission’s actions follow due process.
“Nobody I know is trying to sabotage this project. Nobody,” Mayor DiMartino said. “So to reiterate what Rob (Alderman Rob Hyder) said, the negativity — it’s just got to stop. If we are going to do this, we are going to do this as a team.”
The mayor spoke those words at the June 27 meeting of the “property and development committee,” a subcommittee of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen.
The meeting agenda called for a vote on whether to send the “Sterling Opera House Commission Ordinance” to the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen.
Ultimately they did send the ordinance to the full board for approval, but not before a tense discussion between members of the commission, the subcommittee and the Derby corporation counsel.
What’s an ordinance?
An ordinance is a local law. The Sterling Opera House Commission ordinance would create and codify the opera house commission, making it a permanent fixture in city government.
What’s the Sterling Opera House Commission?
The Sterling Opera House Commission is a group of volunteers who have been meeting for almost two years to come up with a plan to restore the opera house into a functioning venue.
What’s the Sterling Opera House?
The Sterling Opera House is on Elizabeth Street, across from the Derby Green and next to Superior Court. It opened in 1889 as a performing arts center and was later used as Derby City Hall. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
In recent years it was featured on an episode of ‘Ghost Hunters;’ it was the location of a Harry Connick, Jr. music shoot; and, in May, it was profiled on the Discovery Channel show“Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America.”
The exterior of the building has been renovated, but the interior is in rough shape and needs extensive work.
What’s the issue?
Members of the Sterling Opera House Commission have previously said they’re frustrated by the pace of local government.
They’ve said they’ve lined up a nonprofit professional – David Condon of DNS Associates – who is advising them on how to raise the millions needed to renovate the Sterling.
They’ve said both former Mayor Richard Dziekan and current Mayor DiMartino do not match their enthusiasm. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story. Note: after publication, Dana Florenza Serna posted a comment to Facebook saying no one has a problem with the mayor, but would not name which officials the commission has issues with.
Delay Getting To The Starting Line
There’s been a push-pull on the Sterling Opera House Commission ordinance since about February.
While the members of the commission meet regularly, Derby Corporation Counsel Richard Buturla said June 27 that the commission may not be a real commission because it was created by the previous administration through a resolution passed by the Alders.
One could take the view that without a formal ordinance, the commission stopped existing once Mayor Dziekan left office, Buturla said.
An ordinance would make the commission permanent in Derby, the lawyer said.
The members of the commission are still learning local government checks and balances. Example – meeting minutes show the commission appointed a new member, something they don’t have the power to do in Derby.
The members of the commission came up with their own ordinance a few months back – but it was worded in a way that gave the commission control of the Sterling Opera House property, a public property controlled by the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen.
More recently Buturla wrote a draft ordinance which made its way to the full board – but he said that no one from the Sterling Opera House Commission offered comment at the meeting.
At the June 27 subcommittee meeting, Sterling Opera House Commission members Brian Coppolo and Dan Blizman questioned why no one from city hall told them the ordinance would be discussed at a previous meeting.
“Nobody reached out, nobody notified anybody from the opera house commission, they just silently put it on the agenda,” Blizman said.
Alderman Rob Hyder said the meeting agendas are posted on the city’s website and in Derby City Hall.
“To suggest it was silently put on the agenda is completely false,” Hyder said.
“I’m still suggesting that,” Blizman said.
The Ordinance
Members of the commission had two main problems with the draft of the ordinance under discussion:
The number of people on the commission. Current members wanted nine, but the draft ordinance said five.
Term lengths: the draft ordinance suggested staggered terms. The mayor would determine which members got three-year terms, which members got two-year terms and which get one-year terms.
Commission members were concerned about current members not being able to stick with the mission of restoring the opera house.
“In order for this project to move forward with Dave from DNA, it is imperative that this commission stays together until that building is up and running,” Blizman said.
Eventually the subcommittee voted to keep the membership at five people. Members of the subcommittee noted the commission has been talking about forming a nonprofit entity to collect money.
The subcommittee noted that Sterling Opera House nonprofit would be separate and apart from the government and the Sterling Opera House Commission. Current commissioners should not serve on the nonprofit board of directors, officials said.
The subcommittee agreed to extend the initial term to four years for some members, three for others and two for others. Second terms for all members would be three years.
Correction: an earlier version of this article spelled Blizman two different ways. Blizman is correct.
