LAKE WALES  — Control of the Lake Wales Arts Center is changing hands again, this time returning to its original owners.

The building on State Road 60 E. was the original home for the Lake Wales Arts Council, guided by 200 members who decided on the programs, exhibits and artists to showcase.

But Jan. 1, 2011, the center was deeded to Polk State College, which used the center for its own classes, primarily in the arts.

Erica O'Neill, arts council vice president and acting president, said the arts center had been in need of major renovations and repairs, and the council was not able to financially support the cost of the building, leading to the decision to deed it to Polk State.

The college has made a substantial investment in upgrading the building, including $128,000 to repair damage from Hurricane Irma.

But things changed in June. That was when the state Legislature restored $60 million in higher-education projects but not enough for the college to continue supporting the arts center. 

“The college is proud to have been a part of the restoration and rebirth of an important historic and cultural asset in the Lake Wales community. We believe that this is a great opportunity for the Lake Wales Arts Council,” Polk State Provost Steve Hull said in a statement about the return of the center.

Hull went on to say Polk State College will continue to offer programs and services in Lake Wales at the Polk State JD Alexander Center, which serves about 1,100 students each year.

With the building's return, O'Neill said she and the council are ready for a whole new era to dawn for the arts in Lake Wales.

“To have an institution like the arts center in Lake Wales is an asset to all of our citizens because it gives an opportunity for art exposure that might not otherwise be available,” she said.

Among the benefits the re-acquisition will bring, O’Neill said, are the return of the summer arts camps for children, which began in the early 1990s; the ability to rent the arts center for social and civic functions; and the leeway to schedule more arts exhibits — from one or two per year to six or seven.

Chip Thullbery, a Lake Wales Arts Council board member and past president, said another upside to the transfer could be the chance to have a resident artist teaching at the center. He said the challenge is now fundraising for building maintenance and upkeep.

O'Neill and Thullbery, a Lake Wales native, estimate the operating cost for the Lake Wales Arts Center is $100,000 annually.

“We have to give Polk State College credit. The building was badly in need of renovation, and Polk State College expended a lot of funds accomplishing needed repairs,” Thullbery said.

Madison Fantozzi, Polk State director of communications, said that among the needed structural repairs made to the center were replacing the water-damaged gallery and the main Updike Hall floors and fixing damaged roof sections and windows.

With the transfer back to the Lake Wales Arts Council, five Polk State College positions were eliminated: Lucille Hadley, interim director, cultural affairs; Nancy Lozell, program coordinator; Nicara Daniels, administrative assistant one; and John Berry, theater technician. There was also a vacant position, a coordinator for cultural events. Lozell, Daniels and Berry are still working for Polk State, Fantozzi said, and Hadley's contract ended with the return.

Paul Catala can be reached at paul.catala@theledger.com or 863-802-7533. He can be reached at Twitter @pcat0226.