UCWA files suit, claims UCPAC subject to OPRA

By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer

The Union County Watchdog Association filed a lawsuit late last month asking the court to find that Union County Performing Arts Center is a public agency and subject to the Open Public Records Act.

According to the legal brief filed by attorney Walter M. Luers, Tina Renna, president of the UCWA, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the operations of county government in Union County, the tax-exempt UCPAC, located in Rahway, is a public agency because they hire acts as well as secure sponsorship for the county operated Musicfest.

The lawsuit maintained UCPAC became a public entity when the county purchased the Irving Street theater in Rahway and “poured millions of public dollars into it for renovations.”

Renna said the county “continues to invest tax revenues in UCPAC and there are ongoing plans to pour even more money into upgrades.” Based on this use of public tax dollars, Renna said UCPAC should be subject to OPRA rules.

“It’s clear that without access to information contained in the records of the UCPAC, citizens cannot monitor the operations of our Union county government or hold public officials accountable for their actions and the expenditure of our tax dollars,” said Renna.

On Oct. 24, Renna said, she submitted an OPRA request on behalf of the UCWA pursuant to both OPRA and the “common law right of access.” Renna requested copies of “all contracts for acts hired for the Union County 2010 and 2011 Musicfest and the five most recent minutes available for UCPAC board of directors. On Nov. 1, she said, Executive Director Samson Steinman denied access to the records, claiming that UCPAC is not subject to OPRA.

Tuesday, when reached for comment, Steinman said he could not comment on pending litigation, but he would be meeting with UCPAC legal council later this week, preferring that any further comments come directly from them.

According to a report by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, UCPAC is a non-profit 501C-3 corporation that originally opened in October 1928 as the Rahway Theater. After it fell into disrepair, the county paid for a $6.2 million renovation and expansion of the theater, which was completed in 2007. The county also purchased the theater for $1.3 million, leasing it back to UCPAC for $1 a year, according to Renna.

The theater was renamed UCPAC in 1985 after the Union County Board of Freeholders passed a resolution officially renaming it.

Renna points to a court case involving the New Jersey League of Municipalities, which is a non-profit lobbying and educational organization comprised of representative New Jersey municipalities and which derived 28 percent of its funding from taxpayer dollars, was a public agency. The court, she notes, held that it was.

Although Renna admitted that UCPAC does not perform exactly the same actions as the league, she believes they are a public entity.

UCPAC, Renna added, according to its 990 filings and newspaper accounts which quote county and other officials, “couldn’t exist without the support of the county government and UCPAC is needed to spur economic development on behalf of the county.”

Renna also pointed to the fact that in August 2004 former county manager George Devanney called the purchase of the arts center “an economic development investment.”

The watchdog president said it is clear from past published newspaper accounts and the finances of UCPAC, the arts center is not only working closely with public agencies and officials but “performing critical public functions that would otherwise be performed by public agencies.”

Union County Communications Director Sebastian D’Elia said Tuesday the county does not comment on issues involving litigation, but pointed out that UCPAC is a separate non-profit agency.