UCCCA struggles with changing times

The Daily Star reported about recent staffing changes at the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts. Interim executive Director Scott Ward resigned last week for personal reasons, board President and CEO Linda MacKenzie-Ranc said.

The position of program coordinator, held by Corrine Armstrong, was eliminated as the organization has downsized "in a last attempt to survive, she said. The telephone number of neither one was in the phone book and they could not be reached. Ward replaced executive director Sara Hammonds, who was in the position for a short time.

Since 1970, the Arts Council has served communities in the region by supporting and creating opportunities for area artists and arts organizations, according to the UCCCA website. Last year this included giving out more than $63,000 in support and grant money received from state agencies, according to an UCCCA media release. Most of the state funding comes from the New York State Council on the Arts, an UCCCA official said.

The board of directors will be discussing replacing Ward at a Tuesday meeting, she said. The job of the program coordinator will be filled by board, staff and volunteers as "we are looking at what we keep and what must go," she said. The current budget is about $350,000, she said. Most of that is redistributed as part of the nonprofit mission, she said. Exact figures were not available Friday afternoon.

The board will also be discussing its options at the meeting, these include further scaling back or going on hiatus until a solution is worked out. Read more here.