A Local Arts Spot Bites the Dust After Tax Struggles

The once-popular Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center has shut its doors for good, its owners blaming city officials for deliberately sabotaging their efforts. In a Facebook post, the group called "the HMAC Family" called the closure permanent and claimed city leaders constructed a trap to force them out. They insisted they tried talking to city staff for months, proposing payment plans to settle unpaid bills. Yet city records show those plans never covered even half of what they owed in local taxes tied to ticket sales, trash pickup, and property fees. Reports from past years reveal HMAC struggled with debt for over a decade, carrying over a million dollars from a previous bankruptcy. Even as ownership changed hands repeatedly, co-founder John Traynor stayed involved, holding power of attorney for the most recent group running the venue. Despite these financial woes, city leaders say they couldn’t share exact tax totals due to ongoing legal matters. Meanwhile, Traynor admitted staff sometimes skipped collecting the required 10% entertainment tax on ticket sales—money that should split evenly between the city and local schools.City officials pushed back in February by blocking HMAC’s health license renewal. Soon after, a state liquor board inspection led to the venue losing its alcohol license too. This left the center without core permits needed to operate safely. The owners’ Facebook message suggests the city orchestrated their downfall, claiming officials smeared their reputation publicly while the mayor stayed silent. Behind the scenes, the city’s solicitor argued that ignoring tax collections isn’t just unpaid bills—it’s illegal. "Holding onto money that isn’t yours is clearly against the rules, " they stated earlier this year. Despite appeals for compromise, city records paint a different picture: HMAC’s payment attempts often amounted to offering just a fraction of what they owed, allowing interest and fees to pile up over time.