More than 50 supporters of Centerstage Theatre filled the Federal Way City Council chambers on Tuesday night after city officials announced they may not renew Centerstage’s contract to operate the city-owned Knutzen Family Theatre at Dumas Bay Centre.

Under the three-year contract, which is set to expire June 30, the city pays Centerstage $100,000 a year to manage the space.

Federal Way Parks Director John Hutton said the recommendation not to renew the contract is financially driven. The city faces an approximately $850,000 budget shortfall. In response, the city council last month approved levying a 7.75-percent utility tax on Lakehaven Water and Sewer District customers to generate additional revenue.

“The city has no desire to harm Centerstage, and I personally have no desire to harm Centerstage,” Hutton told the council Tuesday night. “But the city has a fiduciary duty to protect the public purse and spend taxpayer funds in a way that maximizes the benefits to the greatest number of our citizens. I feel the best way to do this at Dumas Bay is to maximize all revenue streams and manage expenses closely. The spaces Centerstage currently occupies have real rental value, and the city needs to capture that revenue.”

Councilman Mark Koppang said that while it is important to evaluate city resources, he is concerned about not looking further into renewing the contract.

“When do we lose our soul as a city?” he said during the council meeting. “I think that is an important component and one that we really do need to look at. … I don’t look at Centerstage as a necessity for our community necessarily, but I do look at it as a strategic partnership for us.”

Koppang said he would like to look at extending the contract temporarily to allow for more time to explore options.

Centerstage was notified of the decision last Friday, about 75 days before the contract is set to expire.

“I think that we have an opportunity to look at our future,” Koppang said. “Centerstage can be in our future or it can be out of our future, and I want to make every effort to include them in our future. I think they are a vital resource to us.”

Angela Bayler, managing director of Centerstage, said the management fee from the city makes up nearly a third of Centerstage’s $350,000 operating budget.

“Losing the $100,000 would definitely put Centerstage in great jeopardy of closing,” Bayler said.

Centerstage has had a presence in the community for about 40 years and has operated the Knutzen Family Theatre, 3200 SW Dash Point Road, for the past nine years.

Three years ago, the city announced it would let the contract expire, but renegotiated the terms after receiving an outcry of public support for Centerstage. The city received more than 800 emails in support of Centerstage from residents and non-residents.

Bayler said she was grateful for the public’s presence at Tuesday’s council meeting and said Centerstage will continue to rally its supporters to encourage the city to renew the contract.

At Tuesday’s meeting, about a dozen people spoke in favor renewing Centerstage’s contract.

Jasmyne Mendoza, a student at Decatur High School and an intern at Centerstage, testified to the council about the impact Centerstage has on the city’s youth.

“I can speak on behalf of all of us when I say Centerstage has opened the doors,” she said. “It taught us how to be part of the community, it has taught us how to volunteer and how we can be a bigger part of Federal Way.”

Lia Lee spoke about the role Centerstage plays in the development of up and coming actors, including Lee.

“For those who don’t know, many people here in the Pacific Northwest who have gone to drama school, who have performance training, we don’t immediately get jobs on Broadway or in L.A. right after we graduate,” Lee said. “That is the reality of it. …Without places like Centerstage that provide professional working theaters that produce high-quality shows and that also include professional designers, directors, stage managers, stagehands, without these kind of performing arts productions, we cannot progress to the next level in our careers.”

Trista Duval, Centerstage’s artistic director, encouraged the council to keep the conversation going with Centerstage.

“We are just asking for a chance to negotiate for a win-win situation for us and the city,” she said. “We don’t need you to keep things as they were. We just need you to come to the table and talk to us so we can all win this.”

Lia Lee tells the Federal Way City Council about the role Centerstage Theatre has in the development of actors, including herself, during Tuesday’s council meeting. City staff has recommended not renewing the city’s contract with Centerstage to operate the Knutzen Family Theatre. HEIDI JACOBS, the Mirror