As Thalia Mara Hall fell apart, its manager pleaded for help from the Lumumba Administration but to no avail. A sinking orchestra pit stage, handicapped people stuck in elevators at multiple shows, and the air conditioning failing during a Broadway show are just some of the problems that occurred at the municipal auditorium over the last year.
Meanwhile, the city of Jackson had at least $400,000 in state funds targeted for fixing Thalia Mara Hall just sitting around as Manager Angie Ladner's superiors fiddled and fiddled.
Ms. Ladner reported several problems with Thalia Mara Hall over a year ago. She send the following email to her superiors in October 2023:
The elevators broke during the show last night with multiple handicapped folks stuck in on a level they could not get down from. Unfortunately, Dr. Scott Crawford was one of them- His wheelchair weighs 450 pounds on its on, and he cannot walk at all. We had to call the fire department, after many many ideas that failed us (- he missed a majority of the show ) and is.. well. not happy. Let's discuss, and get ahead of it.- Jenny Mann, the president of MSO was helpful, and I took videos and picture for reference - for whatever we need to do to rectify this. This is the 3rd show in a row that this has happened. If someone were
to have gotten stuck inside the elevator, the fire department informed there was nothing even they could have done. Needless to say- long night.
Ms. Ladner continued to report the mounting problems afflicting Thalia Mara Hall in weekly reports. The December 10 report states:
* 3 toilets are broken/have plumbing issues
* The orchestra pit sank one inch during rehearsals
* Internet and phones were down.
* Passenger elevator was out of order
* 6 of 9 auditorium entrance doors did not work
* A fountain was broken
* JCI came out to turn on two chillers before the first performance
* Truss motor on the upstage lighting rail did not work.
The New Year came and went but the problems worsened as the list grew longer . The January 6, 2024 report added more problems to the list:
* 4 toilets are broken/have plumbing issues. Two were backstage while two were at the front of the house. Plumbers called. The backstage ones needed to be completely replaced.
* Orchestra pit separated an inch forward.
* Internet and phones still out of order.
The orchestra pit only worsened. The January 13 report states:
* The orchestra pit continues to sink and separate from the proscenium. Staff collected four five-gallong bucks of leaking oil and dumped back into the hydraulic bin to keep cylinders lubricated.
* Internet and phones still down.
More problems surfaced. The January 21 report states:
* Escalator stopped working during performance of My Fair Lady while patrons were on it.
* Toilets were not flushing because of low water pressure.
* Internet and phones still down.
* Problems stated in earlier reports still remain.
Fast forward to March. Think anything is fixed? Guess again. The March 10 report states:
* Elevator power is out.
* A ceiling tile fell from the roof during a Mississippi Symphony Orchestra performance. Water fell in and stained the carpet.
* Air went out during the Jesus Christ Superstar show
* Sinks were overflowing backstage.
* Dumpster not emptied in three weeks.
* Multiple toilets overflowed during a Broadway performance. Plumbers came by January 10 and delivered estimate. Ladner was told her budget could not pay for the repairs.
* Internet & phones still out.
* Ladner asked for custodians during and after the shows. Apparently there was not a clean-up crew to take care of the auditorium during and after performances. Nice, just nice .
However, she reported (p.10) that Care & Maintenance pulled the custodians from working outside from 7 AM to 3 PM. "Thalia Mara Hall no longer has help cleaning during shows, after shows, or between shows nor weekends." Ouch.
April arrived with little help in sight as Thalia Mara Hall went from broken to just plain nasty. The April 22 report states:
* An "exorbitant amount" of crap was spread on doors, walkways, and balconies. An employee asked for a pressure washer but was reminded there was only "one resource and he is very busy."
* Remember that ceiling tile that fell from the ceiling during a show? Water poured in and stained the carpet. Well, the tile is still out and the water continued to drip as nature decided it didn't want to accommodate the city's budget or schedule.
* Toilets not flushing due to low water pressure.
* A 1,000 lb brake failed on a fly rail. Ms. Ladner put "911" on this line.
* Two roof leaks backstage.
As Led Zeppelin wrote, the song remains the same. The April 29 report states:
* The missing ceiling tile is "STILL OUT".
September arrived with little fixed. The September 1 report states:
* Multiple toilets don't work and sings are still backed up. Toilets won't flush due to low water pressure.
* The orchestra pit woes continued as the pit sinks and separates while leaking oil. Buckets catch the leaking fluid and are dumped back into the hydraulic bin.
* HVAC completely out.
* Tested fire curtains. Need to be replaced.
The reports corroborate what JJ reported on October 18:
Auditorium Manager Angie Ladner stated in a November 2023 email sent to Human & Cultural Services Director Pamela Scott:
The orchestra pit has begun to sink. Over the weekend, I watched it drop 3 inches within 48 hours. We have children starting to rehearse tonight. We are looking into a temporary fix to empty the buckets and to fill the hydraulics with the fluid that is needed; this will cost money, please let me know how to proceed. Thank you!Deputy Director Mike Williams replied and said he was "heading right over" to inspect the problem....
So in Ty�s opinion the rigging while worn and in need of replacement is a manageable if operated safely by a certified person. There are significant limits to its capacity and there should be restrictions placed on it operations. So, with a competent certified rigger the fly will still function with in the Safety limits that a certified rigger would establish. There is not an emergency other than finding a certified rigger to operate the stage system as far as performances planned and on the calendar with in the confirmed limits .
Indeed, the elevator broke during on performance, trapping people inside.
The city was going to close Thalia Mara Hall from July 2025 to January 2026 to address the numerous problems. However, the HVAC system failed last summer, creating optimal conditions for mold as it was unable to control the humidity. Microbial growth developed but was detected before it became mold. The auditorium is closed for remediation.
After remediation, Thalia Mara Hall will remain closed as the city fixes the numerous problems, including the ones mentioned above.
38 comments:
It had to fail so Chowke and his fellow Marxists could blame it on the fair skinned lady.
Is there anyone even slightly surprised by this?
Where's the dumbass who claims Lumumba is "playing chess" by allowing city facilities to crater in order to get federal relief money?
Or is this debacle not one of those genius moves?
And the city defaulted on a lease and moved city employees out of the MetroCenter for fewer issues than these.
Jackson voters - Well done.
I'm clueless about the way things are supposed to work. Is the reason that she "reports" everything instead of doing something about it is because she has now power to authorize repairs? Seems pretty stupid to have a manager who is not empowered to fix stuff within a certain dollar amount.
As long as Lumumba is mayor it won’t get fixed and TM will remain closed.
Clearly the fault for this all falls upon the Republicans in state government who have failed for decades to provide funds for the maintenance of the building.
The problem is there was no contractor available who could both fix these issues and kick money back to corrupt Chokwe. And so the City rots.
I cannot wait to see where the money from Siemens went….30 mm in Attorneys fees…
The mayor apparently successfully rectumfied the problems at Thalia Mara.
Tell everyone you are new here without saying it by wondering where the Siemens money went?
The mayor doesn't care, because few performances at Thalia Mara Hall target black audiences.
Did the operator not have the authority and operational money from the collective to have it pressure washed and the plumbing fixed? If so, someone was guarding that money and possibly using it for something else.
Lumumba could care less about a white man in a wheel-chair.
So let's all pretend Tater Tot would have helped without taking over Thalia Mara and all future proceeds. The Governor wants Jackson to fail...even all the Eastover citizens and to take it's sales tax which is among the highest as well as property tax.
You might not like our mayor and I'm afraid he's learn much and decided to , at least, line his pockets too, but this is awful. The Governor and the legislature apparently has missed that IBC has been great publicity for us and is delusional imagining that Mississippi Ballet can take over with a small facility that will not accommodate the dancers or have convenient hotel space for coaches or is close enough to Belhaven or another place to house dancers. Time is everything at a ballet competition and they will move to another city rather than sacrifice time and convenience. Y'all 's "redneck" is showing!
That's just plain dumb. Legislature passed $1 million, $1.5 million, and $2 million for Thalia Mara Hall in the last few years. Governor signed them all.
1:55 beat me to it. Guess palm grease is harder to come by when the feds are sniffing around. Poor Choke will just have to dream of how much of the state’s $400k could’ve ended up in his pocket…
You need to take your guilt trip somewhere else. Nobody is taking that trip here.
It's "couldn't care less," or "could not care less."
@3:32 Your ignorance is showing. The state legislature is well aware of the importance of the IBC and has given millions to the City of Jackson for Thalia Mara specifically each of the last several years. The question is what has (or hasn't) been done with this money. It sounds like a lot of it has been sitting unused or unclaimed.
Take over Thalia Mara. It should be a state asset. Throwing money at it won’t help as long as this administration is in charge. The Feds already took the water system and county jail.
Sadly, I think Thalia Mara Hall will reopen the same day as the Charles Tillman Library.
Thank you! @ 3:57
Always looking to Uncle Sugar for help. And if Uncle Sugar doesn't help, then Uncle Sugar gets blamed. Here's a friendly educational reminder: It's not the state's responsibility to help a city run itself.
Just move it out of Jackson. Jackson for what ever reason doesn’t want it. There are cities that would welcome it with open arms. Maybe Madison? We really should seriously consider moving the capital out of Jackson
The state of Mississippi has a vested interest in the impression given by its state capitol. It's time to clean it up or move it. Damn the torpedoes.
I think that the Thalia Mara Hall will reopen the same day as the Metrocenter Mall.
Everyone knows Chokwe is a total idiot. He couldn’t make it in law.
Move State workers and any assets you can out of Jackson. The citizens picked their path. Quit wasting our dollars there
Honest question-how much spending authority did the manager have? Does every expense have to move through the council’s claims docket? What about seeming emergencies like repeatedly occurred? Who’s in charge?
Jody Owens bragged about commingling funds. My guess is similar shenanigans have gone on at city hall. The 400k may be on the books but out the door in reality. If ever a city needed a colonoscopy level audit, this is it. Chances are the books are in about the same conditions as Jackson’s zoo, roads, schools, parks and libraries.
* 6 of 9 auditorium entrance doors did not work
Is this a fire code violation just like the out of date fire extinguishers were?
I agree
Jacktown ain’t be need no place no ways for classical music and skinny dancers with they short skirts and funny shoes on they feets.
I'm struggling to think of anything public running well in Jackson.
"Its sad, but not at all shocking."
...is a statement I find myself repeating anytime someone out of state points out some bonkers news about Jackson, MS and expects me to comment.
The City of Jackson needs a federal investigation for its total failure to abide by ADA laws. From TMH to the airport, to public transportation and it’s sidewalks, Jackson needs a huge lawsuit. They HATE the disabled.
Having worked around Gov't, this is a city controlled entity and all expenditures have to be pre-approved (budgeted) or go through the proper channels if the money was not budgeted. If she had spending authority it was only for BUDGETED items. She most likely had to run all non-budgeted items through city hall which means that if it was not available, it just wasn't a priority.
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