WESTBROOK – The Merrill Auditorium does it, the Portland Expo Center does it, but the Westbrook Performing Arts Center has never considered selling alcohol at events because it’s on school grounds – until now.

James Tranchemontagne, owner of the Frog and Turtle restaurant, has proposed putting on a fundraiser to boost the operating budget for the performing arts center. He’d cater a screening of “The Last Waltz,” the classic documentary about the last performance of The Band, and provide a cash bar of beer and wine to recoup the roughly $5,000 in food he would provide. Ticket sales would go to the center.

The alcohol issue was at the top of the agenda at a Feb. 28 meeting of a subcommittee of the Westbrook School Committee, which oversees the performing arts center. On hand were Superintendent Marc Gousse; City Councilor John O’Hara, School Committee members Suzanne Joyce and James Violette; Danielle Drouin of Drouin Dance Center; Jamie Grant, manager of the center; Greg Post, of the Westbrook Community Center; and Steve Noyes, from MBA Productions.

“There’s a policy in place about alcohol and tobacco on school ground,” said Violette. “It’d really be an interpretation of that policy.”

Gousse said even if the district didn’t have a policy in place, the Maine Department of Education might, and the school couldn’t risk going against their policies and losing funding that comes from the state into Westbrook’s school district.

David Connerty-Marin, spokesman for the Maine Department of Education, said this week that he believed alcohol, while not allowed during the day, “in theory could be allowed if there was a function at night.”

Tranchemontagne’s proposal stipulated the event would take place on a Saturday night and would only be open for those over the legal drinking age.

The goal would be to raise $20,000 for the center to be used “solely for the booking and marketing of large events at the WPAC.” Tickets would be sold at $25 per seat with no more than 1,000 in attendance.

Last year the center’s operating budget was $10,000, according to Grant.

Another $20,000 was appropriated by the City Council. City Administrator Jerre Bryant said a little more than $1,000 of that city money was used throughout the year, and the rest has been reallocated because it wasn’t used.

According to Grant, the center operates as rental property – groups rent the space for a night or a number of days – but the center does not have the funds to solicit acts.

Grant said rental fees vary depending on the type of organization and location, whether they are for profit or nonprofit, and whether they are based in Westbrook. A for-profit organization not based in Westbrook would be charged $2,000 per day. Grant said the center has had more than 50 groups rent the space in the last year.

Tranchemontagne said for his fundraiser, alcohol and food would be served outside the auditorium before the documentary began and during a brief intermission.

But that also brought concerns that attendees would sneak alcohol into the theater, possibly spilling it onto the carpet or seats, leaving a noticeable smell for students to pick up on Monday morning.

Tranchemontagne said he was open to looking at other options to hold the fundraiser, but he would need some way to recuperate the cost of donating his catering services and the cost of food.

Other questions that came up during the meeting included whether the district needed to purchase a day liquor license from the state, who and what types of insurance needed to be purchased and if allowing alcohol sales at this one event would open the door for unwanted crowds at the center.

“We have a lot of questions and a lot of homework on this,” Gousse said.

Jamie Grant, the manager at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center at the middle school, is responsible for all aspects of the facility, from rigging the lights to booking the acts. (Photo by Rich Obrey)