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. 25 • Date: November 14, 2000 To: Mayor Members of the City Council Mike Morrison From: Amy Sparks Item: Community Center I was recently invited to a coffee by a group of six residents to talk about the community center. I came away with some interesting ideas that I want to share with you. The discussion centered on ways to make improvements to our building that would make the space feel more inviting. The consensus of this group was that there is lots of disap- pointment with the building - in part because its appearance doesn't reflect the communi- ty's spirit. Our community center is like our city's family room.just as a family room serves as a com- fortable and attractive place for a family to gather, meet with friends, and do the work.of running the house; the Community Center is where we gather to talk about what goes on in our community, run the city, pay the bills, have fun, take care of our children (childcare and gym activities), and celebrate special events like the volunteer dinner. Up to this point however, there has been little attempt to make the building into a place people want to be. Yes, it functions - it has the rooms to do much of what we need but it doesn't generate the warmth and energy of our city. It was the suggestion of this particular group of residents that we spend some time and money on our community center. The entryway (or great hall) could revitalized as an inter- esting and inviting space. Some of the suggestions that were given to me at this meeting: • Use the services of a commercial interior designerto soften the looks and improve the acoustics of the great hall. Employ techniques restaurants use to make the entryway welcoming. • Add interest to the building by using the walls as display space for.student or com- munity artwork (display pieces by the St.Anthony.Quilting club or high school art work) • Remove the existing plants which don't match the big scale of the room and add • larger plants or seasonal flowers. The Lions or the Garden club could be involved as they have done similar projects within our city.