ArtsAltoona weathering stretch of bad luck

Arts organization hit with gas bills, flooding, sewer backups

ArtsAltoona has been swamped with bad luck in recent months, from corroded water lines to a backed up sewer system to past due gas bills in the tens of thousands, and now the community organization is hoping for a change.

"We've been in the news lately, with not such good news," Vice President Kathrine Muller said during Operation Our Town's recent grant ceremony. "First, we've had too much water, then not enough water, then way too much water, not enough insurance, all kinds of things like that."

Established in 2015, ArtsAltoona aims to create a vibrant and cultural community within the greater Altoona area by offering art classes, music lessons, event spaces, festivals and other educational programming for all ages. The organization largely operates on donations, keeping prices low so programs are accessible to everyone.

Its problems began when ArtsAltoona received about $40,000 in past due bills from People's Natural Gas because of an issue with their billing system, President Donna Gority said. They were given three years to pay off the debt.

"The official shut off notice amount was close to $40,000," Gority said. "We got it down close to $36,000, which is essentially adding $1,000 to every month's bills."

ArtsAltoona is a business, so it isn't eligible for average monthly billing, a tool nonprofits and residents can use to sort out energy bills by averaging current and previous usage charges. That will leave it with "extra high bills in the winter when event revenue is down," Gority said.

The building that houses ArtsAltoona was once a church and Gority said the notices sent to them had the church's old name, which wasn't a mailing address.

"We just weren't getting our bills since January 2020," Gority said. "We received a service and we weren't paying for it, we can't deny that. If we somehow missed that one, clearly we weren't noticing that we weren't paying a gas bill."

Then ArtsAltoona received a notice from the water authority saying there was excess water usage at their location, Gority said. After consulting with a plumber, it was discovered the water lines to their water heater corroded away, causing leaking and excess water in the Blank Canvas room.

"We had a plumber cap it off to stop the water flow, but that means we have not had hot water in the building for months," Gority said.

The Blank Canvas had a certified kitchen, meaning if a food vendor wanted to use it to prepare food, ArtsAltoona would be unable to accommodate rental requests for a commercial kitchen, costing them revenue.

"We also can't rent to anyone wanting to use the kitchen as part of a rental in the Blank Canvas event room," Gority said. "We don't have any reserves to fund a very large estimated plumbing bill to fix it. Nor have we yet found a grant or sponsors to cover the expense."

To add insult to injury, Gority said tree roots had grown into the storm sewer, causing ArtsAltoona's sewer lines to back up after a heavy rain, resulting in "significant, standing flooding in the Blank Canvas."

"ServPro was here for weeks, drying, venting and tearing things out," Gority said. "We are anticipating a pretty high bill, even though they said they are looking for ways to help us reduce it. Now we need to replace the flooring, kitchen cabinets, storage shelving, walls that had to be flood cut and arts and crafts supplies that were ruined."

Gority said the cost of replacing everything was estimated to be over $60,000, while insurance will pay about $30,000.

In terms of fundraising, Muller said a few local musicians will be putting on a benefit concert Oct. 10.

"So listen up for that, because we would love you all to attend," Muller said.

Gority said they were also thinking about holding events like cash bashes, 200 clubs and reverse drawings in the spring.

"Those don't help in the short term though; they take a while to plan," Gority said. "We have received some generous donations from people who saw we were having some issues, and we always need sponsorships."

Gority said ArtsAltoona has other spaces available for rent, such as the boardroom, the sanctuary and the grotto. There are also several events coming up, including Mad Hatter Comedy on Sept. 12, The Hallelujah Girls from Sept. 19-21 and ArtsAltoona Christkindl Market on Nov. 23.

To donate, visit artsaltoona.org or facebook.com/artsaltoona. For more information, email info@artsaltoona.org.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.

How to help

To donate, visit artsaltoona.org or facebook.com/artsaltoona. For more information, email info@artsaltoona.org.

Upcoming events

-- Mad Hatter Comedy, Sept. 12

-- The Hallelujah Girls, Sept. 19-21

-- ArtsAltoona Christkindl Market, Nov. 23.