BELLEFONTE — Members of the Stage at Talleyrand Development Committee met with Bellefonte Borough Council on Monday as they continue working toward an agreement that would bring the proposed multi-use outdoor performing arts facility to life.

During the work session, council also addressed technical questions from the project’s engineering firm, Keller Engineers, related to the stage’s construction.

Although the Stage at Talleyrand project was approved by borough council at its May 5 meeting, several hurdles must be cleared before groundbreaking, including final architectural plans, financing and permit-related matters.

The goal of the work session was to gather consensus from council on the draft cooperative agreement that would formalize the borough’s relationship with the Friends of Talleyrand — the group spearheading the stage project — before sending the document to them for formal review and feedback.

“What we wanted to do here this evening is just to make sure that council is in good standing with this and everything is in order,” said interim Borough Manager Don Holderman.

The agreement was originally drafted as a lease by the borough’s solicitor, but after further discussion, the parties opted to pursue a cooperative agreement instead.

Key points of discussion during the meeting included the term length of the agreement and indemnification responsibilities.

Bellefonte Borough’s solicitor, McQuaide Blasko, Attorneys at Law, approved the new cooperative agreement with the addition of a term-length clause. In keeping with the original lease agreement, borough council proposed a five-year term with automatic renewal and a six-month opt-out notice by either party.

Although Friends of Talleyrand members emphasized they have no intention of severing the agreement, they did not appear to oppose the suggested clause.

With the term length established, council sought to clarify liability and insurance-related concerns.

Rick Jacobs, a volunteer with The Stage at Talleyrand Development Committee, confirmed to council the stage would be insured under the borough’s existing policy, with the Friends of Talleyrand covering any additional cost resulting from the new structure.

Council President Barbara Dann and the interim borough manager agreed that was the understanding, but noted that the borough’s insurance provider needs more information — particularly the dimensions of the stage — before it can provide a quote on the premium increase.

Jacobs said the committee knows the intended size of the stage, but emphasized the overall project cost could vary by as much as half a million dollars, which may impact the insurance estimate.

Holderman added in similar cases, any increase to the borough’s insurance bill has been “minimal.”

Above all, both parties stressed the importance of ensuring adequate coverage in the event of an accident.

“It could be that there will be some combination here where the structure actually falls into the park’s insurance and we pay for any premium increase and anytime we have an event, there is some sort of insurance that the committee takes out for that event in case something happens,” Jacobs said.

Both members of council and the development committee agreed they would need additional time to review the draft agreement and develop comments before they could negotiate a final deal.

Holderman asked council members to submit any remaining feedback by the end of the week so that revisions could be made and the document forwarded to the Friends of Talleyrand for their review — ideally by early next week.

“The anticipation was that it wasn’t going to be solved this evening,” Holderman said.

Jacobs agreed, “I think we’re close on this. We’ll look at what you want to do, and we’ll look at our stuff, too.”

Immediately following the discussion of the agreement, Michael Pratt, director of the State College office of Keller Engineers, addressed council to resolve several outstanding questions related to the project.

While Pratt received answers to most of his inquiries, some questions remained–particularly regarding whether the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) needs to be notified about the construction due to an environmental covenant on an adjacent parcel. That neighboring property previously housed a gas station that leaked fuel, resulting in ground contamination at the site.

Pratt cautioned that if the Borough opts not to inform the DEP and gasoline is later found in the soil, the resulting cleanup could come with significant costs.

Holderman said he felt comfortable proceeding without notifying the DEP, provided the project receives permitting from the Centre County Conservation District. Council President Barbara Dann, however, agreed with Pratt that it may be worthwhile to take a more proactive approach and inform the department.

Council plans to revisit the outstanding issues from both discussions in future sessions as the agreement moves closer to finalization.