Stage at Talleyrand construction could soon start after Bellefonte approves contracts

Following years of planning, fundraising and designing, the long-awaited Stage at Talleyrand Park project is nearly ready to break ground.

The Bellefonte Borough Council voted 8-1 on Monday to conditionally award two contracts for the stage project, with Councilman Jon Eaton voting against. The first $820,000 “general construction” contract was awarded to Mid-State Construction, and a $105,999 “electrical construction” contact was awarded to Westmoreland Electric.

The contract awards come after the stage’s final land development plan approval in March, and given that a few final permitting matters are resolved, Rick Jacobs of the Talleyrand Stage Committee told the Centre Daily Times that the project could break ground as soon as July.

“We opened bids last week, and they were very favorable with regard to the project budget,” borough manager Dave Pribulka said.

The project was awarded a $1 million state Department of Community and Economic Development grant in 2023, and the committee also fundraised for the open air performing arts center that’s expected to host a variety of musical and theater performances.

The two conditions attached to the approval are that the architect validates the scope of work that’s included in the proposals, and that the stage committee work with Mid-State Construction to develop a response plan in the “unlikely event” that groundwater is hit during construction. Both Jacobs and Hoffman Leakey Principal Architect Michael Leakey expressed certainty that groundwater wouldn’t be struck due to prior tests in the area.

When the stage’s development plans were approved in March, a problem arose within the borough’s ordinances, in that a development like the stage required a public bathroom to be located within 500 feet of the premises, whether it’s built with the project or is pre-existing. Currently, the closest public restroom sits about 1,000 feet away, across Talleyrand Park’s famous swinging footbridge.

The solution for that issue was initially a renovation to Pelican’s Snoballs’ restrooms, which would allow them to be accessed from both the inside and outside, and used as public restrooms during concerts, but that plan fell through. Now, for the first five years of the stage’s existence after its construction, porta-potties will be brought in to serve as a temporary bathroom.

Council President Doug Johnson noted that if permanent restrooms aren’t built for the stage within those five years, then its occupancy permit would be taken away, the stage would shut down and the cost of constructing the restrooms would fall on the borough and its taxpayers.

“I want to make it clear to the public what is happening here, and to borough council,” Johnson said. “When we got into this project, borough council said that they want no responsibility on this stage project financially. ... So at the end of the five years, if there’s no bathroom, that burden will fall on Bellefonte Borough residents.”

But Jacobs shared his belief that the borough should foot at least a portion of the bathrooms’ cost, and that the two entities should work together to form a financial plan.

“Did we budget for [new restrooms]? No. Do we have money? Yes. Can we raise more money? Yes,” Jacobs said. “We’d like some partnership benefits; it’s not just for the stage. You’ve got the Easter egg hunt there and other events where people will benefit from those restrooms.”

Several members of the council, including Claudia Wilson and Barbara Dann, agreed.

“It will be a positive addition to the park in general and to the downtown area, and I understand the financial implication, but I think the suggestion that we work together and look at creating a plan, and trying to ensure that by those five years that we have those facilities constructed, is something I think we should definitely commit to as a council,” Wilson said.

While no concrete financial plan was shared for the restrooms, Jacobs and Leakey expressed confidence that they would be able to construct them within the five-year time frame.

Moving forward, given that the stage’s potential groundbreaking is held in July as planned, Leakey told the CDT that the stage should be completed “before winter.”

More updates on the stage project will be shared at future borough council meetings, which typically take place at 7:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month following a work session at 6:30 p.m. More information on the stage is available at its website.