|
Performance Times:
All performances begin at 8pm
(unless otherwise mentioned)
Testimonials/Comments
View Schedules:
|
|
Press
|
Summer Concert Series shortened
Event now three days a week due to budget cuts | By Alex Ruoff | Staff Writer | Delaware Coast Press
REHOBOTH BEACH -- As a result of a slumping economy, one coastal town has made a difficult financial decision that could end up costing more money than it saves, experts said.
While Rehoboth Beach officials have proceeded with boardwalk renovations to lure tourists to the downtown area, one of the most popular summertime events will be downsized this year.
Less than three years after spending $31 million to rebuild its bandstand, the city of Rehoboth Beach is reducing the Summer Concert Series from four nights a week to three due to a loss of revenue. The open-air pavilion will no longer hold the free concert series on Thursdays.
"As we approach the summer season, we're cutting back our expenditures to increase our gains," said Rehoboth Beach City Manager Greg Ferrese.
Memo Diriker, a financial analyst with Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md., said that may not be the best move as it could give visitors the feeling that their needs are more expendable than those of city.
"It's psychological," he said. "Consumers, and definitely tourists, are looking at how everyone is handling these tough times and making some decisions based on how they are treated."
According to the bandstand's director, Corey Groll, the city could bring back the fourth day if it receives sufficient donations in the spring.
"Thursday is the lightest of the days and I hope we can have a good summer without them," he said. "We're just going to have to do without."
While Rehoboth officials have already started to scale back, their counterparts in Bethany and Dewey are still considering their options for the upcoming fiscal year.
Representatives from the Bethany-Fenwick Area chamber of commerce said the economic downturn will only encourage them to work harder in an effort to preserve the programs that mean so much to visitors.
"At a time when the economy is not as strong as it could be, the chamber is working to ensure that everyone has a good summer," said Anthony Cripps, the chamber's executive director. "We've been through this kind of thing before."
Hard times hit home
Despite the cuts in part-time and seasonal personnel, Ferrese predicts this summer will be business as usual for the city and many community members agree. But that might not be possible as economists are predicting tough times for resort towns this year.
Diriker said the fate of local businesses is closely tied to the success of their towns. Therefore, when businesses begin to fall, so do the cities that support them.
"This is the first recession in a long time that the peninsula is feeling what the nation is feeling at the same time," Diriker said. "This time, everyone is being effected about the same."
With consumer discretionary spending reducing at record levels for the country, time off from work for vacations will be the first thing cut from most family's budgets, Diriker said.
"The number of households experiencing financial troubles are increasing everyday and they aren't going to spend like they have been," he said. "While the worst could be behind us, many will use this year to recover and not spend."
His advice to local businesses that rely on the influx of tourists -- maintain relationships with customers even when they aren't spending a lot.
Cutting back on business costs might seem smart in an economy where most consumers aren't spending as much money as they used to, Diriker said, but when the market bounces back, people will remember.
"I believe that 2010 will be much better, partly because I'm an optimist but also because of the cyclical nature of the market," he said. "The service industry especially needs to keep its customers, even if they aren't spending right now."
High hopes
Not everyone agrees that the resort area will suffer as a result of the economic downturn. Andrew Cripps, executive director of the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, said his organization and its members are not scaling back. They instead hope to capitalize on what could be a potentially strong summer for area businesses.
"We're not going to change anything, especially considering what's been happening in terms of spending habits," he said. "It would be irresponsible of us to scale back. Now is when we need to work the hardest."
One of the chamber's main functions, Cripps said, is to help businesses ride economic ups and downs by continuing popular events and promoting area shops.
While Rehoboth officials would like to maintain all programs and events, they said cuts have been necessary to contain revenue losses.
"If we could save $10,000 in every department we'd have big surplus," Ferrese said. "We're not cutting services or personnel, we're scaling back our programs to build revenue that the city needs."
Lifetime Bethany Beach resident John Huntswoth said he doesn't feel business owners should try to predict the future. After all, he said, the rise in gas prices last year wasn't as harmful as many people thought it would be.
"I noticed that a lot of shops in the area were hunkering down, thinking people weren't coming for the summer but they did because they always do," he said. "People are always going to come for vacation, they do every year."
|
|
|
