What is the future of the Weston Art and Innovation Center?

In a joint meeting last week, the AIC Advisory Board, Select Board, Finance Committee and the Board of Library Trustees discussed the financial future of the makerspace.

The AIC, which opened in 2019, offers classes in fiber arts, 3D printing and other media at a cost to participants. The space, which is in the old library building at 356 Boston Post Road, is also rented out for events.

As Weston nears budget season, town leaders are revisiting the funding provided to the AIC by the town. Discussions regarding the AIC’s budget began after the town paid for the AIC’s Manager Eliza Eddy’s $83,069 salary for the first time last year, according to town manager Leon Gaumond.

“We’d like to have a conversation with the powers that be about the operation of the AIC, so we know where we are, where we’re going and what the prospects of continued success at the AIC looks like,” Gaumond said at the Sept. 30 meeting.

How did we get here?

In 2017, the town voted to construct the AIC in the old library building. It was determined class fees, rental costs, fundraising and corporate sponsorships would contribute to the cost of running the program, while library trust funds would help cover operating deficits as it worked toward being self-sustaining.

The AIC opened a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the country.

Since reopening, the AIC has operated at a loss. Without library support, the AIC has averaged a deficit of $86,419 over the past three years, according to financial analysis done by trustees member Christopher Welles.

In September, the trustees voted to end financial support at the end of the fiscal year. The AIC Advisory Board asked the trustees to extend for another year to allow the group to plan. The trustees said they were open to considering it.

Although the AIC was created with the intention to be self-sustaining through fees and fundraising, the organization still relies on trust funds and money from the town. Weston pays the electric bill and, for the first time this year, covered the AIC manager’s salary. According to Library Director Jennifer Warner, the manager’s salary was added to the library’s budget because the library had an open position it was unable to fill, so the money was put toward the AIC position.

“The AIC probably will always need help”

At the meeting, Advisory Board Chair Cecily Cassum said the board has not been in charge of finances for the AIC, and if that were to change, she would want more people with financial management experience on the board because the center will need financial assistance.

“The AIC probably will always need help,” she said. “Long term, my goal would be that we develop a very robust fundraising arm … it takes time to develop an awareness in your town and your neighborhood about what the mission is.”

Bharath Venkataraman, the Finance Committee chair, said he admired the work that the AIC does, but the organization needs to have a clear plan before asking the town for more money.

“There’s got to be some end to the leash,” he said.

The AIC Advisory Board will meet to further discuss the makerspace’s future at a later date.

“We really would love for the AIC to be successful,” Cassum told the Observer. “It’s going to take some time and work to make the decision together.”

The AIC board shares members with the board of the Weston Observer.