Bill Dobbins Talks – Investment in Our Community – Band Shell Theatre – Swingin’ at the Shell

Written by John Face
Photos by John Face
July 21, 2023

The discussion started innocently and ended with Bill Dobbins agreeing to be interviewed about money spent on the Band Shell Theatre (Shell) upgrades in Victory Park, Albion, MI. He had one rule that he was allowed total transparency, that transparency would include money spent, by whom, and contractors who did the work. Of course, I agreed.

My reason for wanting to have this discussion was simple. As the first phase of upgrades was completed at the Shell, some in the community began complaining about the restrooms not being updated as well. As I and others explained, all these upgrades cost money, a lot, and all these upgrades take time. But I couldn’t tell the whole story until now. I met Bill at Caster Corporations board room for our interview. He started to share how it all started.

The Dobbins Connection

“Swingin’ at the Shell started around 19 years ago,” he said. “One day Karen (his wife) and I were driving through the park looking at the Shell. Remembering all the concerts they saw over the years.” They talked about it being a great band shell, “so let’s try to figure out how to use it more often,” he said. That’s how Swingin’ at the Shell started.

He felt that since they were going to start the show series, they would go ahead and adopt the care of the Shell as well. In the beginning, the repairs were minor such as painting and cleaning; early on, we had Albion Electric do some upgrades because they thought there would be groups unable to use it due to the lack of proper power. They spent around $10,000 of their money to do this.

Over the years, the show series has continued. He said, “The groups got better, the crowds got bigger, and the minor upkeep just wasn’t enough.” He said the condition of the Shell continued to deteriorate, and as that happened, they had a vision of what the Shell, as an entertainment venue, might look like.

The Shell is in Bad Shape

Bill talked about significant damage to the masonry structure of the facility, especially on the back eaves, due to water damage. They also noted masonry damage in the upper arch. He stated, “In my experience, once damage starts, it speeds up quickly.”

A couple of years ago, the family started discussing how to improve the Shell. We decided to start this rehab program which “ended up dovetailing with Tony & Christie de Nicola Gift to the Albion Community Foundation being used along with funds from the William and Karen Dobbins Family Foundation. Allow me to note, all this money is their own. Not raised from the public or city.

In the Beginning

So this spring, they hired an architect who could identify issues or problems. The architect initially set the repairs into phases. Bill said, “Me being somewhat impatient, I felt we need to figure out a way to do all this work in a shorter period of time than the 2-3 year time frame the architect suggested.”

So in the spring, they had a project meeting with Brad Powers, John Carr, John Klingamon and determined what needed to get done and how to get it done. At that point, Caroline Hurteau, his daughter, was appointed the Project Manager to coordinate activities. He said that they did get a late start, and some will notice that the grass is not completely grown, “but upgrades have come a long way in the last 4-5 weeks,” he said.

Money Spent

Caroline supplied me with a breakdown of how money has been spent so far on the Shell: Architectural Planning by Driven Design for $5,000. Work has seen further upgrades in no specific order: to the electrical by Albion Electric at a cost of $8,250. Schweitzer out of Battle Creek, who did Masonry Repair and Painting at a cost of $39,650. Concrete Pathways by Brad Powers Concrete for $40,635. CS Roofing for full roof replacement costs $27,145.58. Powerwashing for $2,000 to prep for painting. Grass Seeding by Brothers Outdoor World for $4,200. Excavation by Carr Brothers & Sons for $42,460. This came to a grand total of $169,340.58 in what we can call phase 1.

So as you see in the above list of contractors, much has been done. Now come Sunday, if you have a chance, get there early and take a close look at what has happened.

Many of the defects are gone, and our beloved Shell looks great. I ran into Bill earlier in the week

as he was there to help Caroline move water hoses and sprinklers to help the grass grow. (I was there to take pictures for this story)

Now before you get upset, Caroline wanted to let me know that city employees were doing the watering, but they (the Dobbins family) volunteered to do it so that city employees wouldn’t be tied down. As I overheard her as she left her dad and said that her mom was coming later to make the next move on the sprinkler. Yeah, this family has adopted this facility.

What’s Next? says a Complaining Public

Now we got to the bathrooms and why they were not done yet. As you have seen, a ton of money has been spent so far, and Bill offered his take. “The fact is,” he said, “that Swingin’ at the Shell accounts for a small amount of usage of bathrooms. I have been very open on social media. I think it’s a waste of time and money, which could be up to $100,000, until we address the real problem of the bathrooms we have, vandalism.” He didn’t feel that his organization should be held completely accountable for upgrades to them.

What still needs to be done along with the bathrooms is the interior dressing rooms so that when they are bringing in these bigger acts, they have a place to change, their own bathroom. Figure out a way they can secure the facility grounds in case someone wants to do ticketed events and concerts in the park. He felt these were all issues that could be addressed in the future, but for now, his excitement is for the upcoming show season.

Show me the Money

Now when wondering if more money could be found, I reached out to Shane Williamson and asked if he could offer an opinion. He sent me this email statement:

“While bathrooms didn’t make it through phase 1 of this project, the Albion Community Foundation and Swingin’ at the Shell have jointly applied for capital support through the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, which will be decided in September 2023. Further, the Albion Community Foundation and the City of Albion have partnered to secure grant funding through the DNR and Council of Michigan Foundations special initiative. The Albion Community Foundation recognizes and is actively seeking funding to renovate the bathrooms at the Shell.”

Dobbins Family Connection

Bill Dobbins and his family have adopted the Shell for two decades; they and their Sponsors are proud of what the concert series means to Albion. Top entertainment, family fun time, a beautiful venue, and good people. That is really what the venue and park is really about.

There is a big buzz in the Albion area about the upcoming summer concert series. This year’s lineup is included in this flyer below, and trust me, everyone in the area is talking. OH, they have brought in porta johns in for the show season.

Time for the City to be Held Accountable

Now it’s time to acknowledge that the City of Albion has a responsibility to start maintaining the Shell, our parks, and facilities across the city and protecting them from vandals. The Dobbins family maintains the Shell as a labor of love, but really it shouldn’t have come to this. We have a new water park; Holland Park is beautiful. Our playground set in Victory Park is in serious disrepair.

It’s not the Bill Dobbins of Albion responsibilities to maintain these; it’s us, the taxpayers, for not holding our City Council responsible and demanding their employees do the basic work every year to maintain our parks.

Get out this summer and have fun Albion.