Nederland Community Center West Wing

The West Wing, a part of the former elementary school building, was left out of the 2005-2007 Community Center renovation process, mainly for cost reasons. During renovation of the main building, the West Wing was shut down, and its heat and water disconnected. Since 2007 it has been used for passive storage by several nonprofits and one business.

In 2009 the NCC Foundation received a grant from the Laura Jane Musser Foundation of Minnesota to organize community workshops. The workshops, held in 2010-2011, brought together interested community residents and regional professionals to consider future uses or changes for this facility. The summary report of the workshops is published below, or click here for the report in full. For questions, contact the NCCF Chair, Dale Porter, at dale.porter819@gmail.com.

WEST WING WORKSHOPS

Final Report, April, 2011

facilitated and prepared by:

J Ryan

Goal

The goal of the West Wing workshops was to provide mediated, open-forum working groups to gather community input on potential uses for the West Wing of the Nederland Community Center. The information obtained from these workshops is presented in this report to the Town Board of Trustees for their deliberation.

Planning and Process — pre-workshop

The redevelopment of the West Wing has been a goal of the BOT and the Nederland Community Center Foundation since 2009. In that year, the NCCF received a grant from the Laura Jane Musser Foundation of Minneapolis, MN to support public discussion of West Wing ideas. In September 2010 the NCCF recruited the West Wing Planning Committee, consisting of Dale Porter, Roger Cornell, Jilene Norman, Jan Tafoya and contracted facilitator Jeremiah Ryan. The group met multiple occasions beginning in September, 2010 (9/25/10/, 10/9/10, 11/6/10) to develop a plan and goals for the community workshops. It was determined that there would be two workshops with the following focus:

Workshop 1: an open-forum meeting where all ideas for the use of the West Wing could be presented and heard by participants. These ideas would be voted on by participants and the top 3-4 ideas would be further evaluated.
Workshop 2: a small-group forum where the top ideas from Workshop 1 would be discussed in fuller detail.

The Workshops were structured to encourage community discourse and involvement. In order to gain significant community participation, the Planning Committee publicized both of the workshops in the following ways:

A Nederland Community Center website page and a Facebook page were created where updates and announcements could be posted and commented on.
Stories and ads in the Mountain Ear
Flyers posted around town in key community engagement points (bank, market, community center, etc.)
Town website link to the Community Center website and Facebook pages.
Town and Community Center email lists

Workshop #1, November 13, 2010

The first workshop was held November 13, 2010 in the main meeting room of the Nederland Community Center. The general mood and tone of Workshop 1 was positive and productive. 39 participants signed-in and were highly-engaged (no hyphens in these constructions) in the goal of the workshop. The agenda was reviewed and attendees were given the opportunity to address the group and present their ideas for future use of the West Wing. Ideas were white-boarded and recorded on large sheets of paper for all to see. The ideas were reviewed and consolidated by the facilitator, J Ryan. Participants voted for their top choices using colored dot stickers to indicate their top three choices. The top ideas based on the participant’s votes were:

1. Government/Town offices

2. Flexible, Multi-Use Space

3. Revenue-Generating Space

The meeting outcomes were recapped by the facilitator, and plans were discussed for the next workshop. Attendees were asked to complete a digital exit survey delivered via Survey Monkey following the workshop.

Workshop notes were posted on the Community Center web site and sFacebook pages to allow for comment and sharing. Poster-size versions of the notes were posted at the Community Thanksgiving dinner and in a Community Center display case. A summary of the workshop was published in the Mountain-Ear. The Planning Committee wanted the Workshop 1 results to be accessible to those who did not get the opportunity to attend.

Planning and Process — pre-workshop 2

The West Wing Planning Committee re-convened on December 4 to plan for Workshop 2. The top three ideas from Workshop 1 were to be the focus. In addition, the Committee decided to include a suggestion from Elizabeth Guyten that the town pursue a design competition for the whole West Wing site. The following community members volunteered to serve as group leaders for the second workshop.

1. Alisha Reis and Roger Cornell: Government/Town Offices

2. Dale Porter: Flexible, Multi-Use Space

3. Randy Lee: Revenue Generating Space

4. Elizabeth Guyten: Architectural Design Competition

The group leaders were invited to Planning Committee meetings to participate in the planning for Workshop 2. The goal was to have a well-organized and facilitated workshop where discussion would be centered on the three topics. The facilitator met with the group leaders early in January 2011 and developed discussion talking-points for each of the ideas being presented. At Workshop 2, the groups would meet simultaneously and notes would be taken to recap each group’s work to the larger group. Participants would be encouraged to sit in on multiple groups and provide feedback and input on all the topics.

Workshop #2, February 5, 2011

The second workshop was held February 5, 2011 in the main meeting room of the Nederland Community Center. A recap of the first workshop was given and the agenda was reviewed. Attendees broke off into small groups and worked with the group leaders on the four topics. While turnout was smaller (28 participants) than the first workshop, those participating were focused and engaged in the workshop’s goals.

The facilitator kept the groups on-task — establishing time limits for discussion, ensuring protocol was followed, and encouraging movement between groups. Notes were captured by most of the group leaders and subsequently recaps were written for each group. From these notes, final recommendations would be presented for the Board of Trustees to consider.

Recommendations

Based on community feedback, the future of the West Wing can be viewed in two ways – Short Term Function and Long Term Vision.

Short Term Function

The following recommendations are for a short term plan to make the West Wing functional:

Obtain accurate and real price quotes to open the building “as-is”. This includes roof repair, systems updating (heat, water, electric), up-to-date building code, asbestos mitigation, etc. Once estimates are obtained, develop a cost analysis to determine viability of project, and availability of grant money to facilitate repairs. Please see Appendix D, current estimates of West Wing repairs.
Determine the potential usage of the West Wing (by whom and how often)
Evaluate intensity of potential usage – prioritize and costs of occupancy

Evaluate short-term town needs (municipal office space etc) and how WW fits these needs.
Operating costs after decision – how much to charge? Rental rates should balance revenue needs against the resources of projected tenants.
Renovate for 2-3 years for immediate use. Short term use is supported.by everyone at the workshops. Operate West Wing within existing resources or reasonably obtainable resources.
Develop a to-do list and begin the fact finding. The West Wing Committee commits to helping with this process and the Community Center Foundation commits to working on grants.
Be mindful of a timeline and keep momentum going around the WW discussion. This will be important for grant writing and community involvement.

Long Term Vision

The following recommendations are associated with the Community Center as it relates to the long term vision for the town:

Include the West Wing in the Vision2020 discussion and how its development fits in with future town plans.
Seek a design and Construction report for the entire Community Center site. The West Wing is part of the next phase of the CC renovation. Consider the development as part of the entire site. Include the West Wing and the site design in the Town’s update of its Comprehensive Plan. Analysis and planning needed for site traffic flow, parking and neighborhood impacts.
Determine the role of the Chamber of Commerce in the development of the WW. Both the Workshop group on revenue-producing ideas, and the Chamber of Commerce itself, have supported the idea of a business incubator facility at the West Wing.
The arts community is strong in the area. Encourage the development of an umbrella non-profit to partner with the townfor appropriate site design grant applications.
Set up a committee to look into the feasibility of an Architectural Competition for the WW and the CC site. A competition for the development of the site could help define future usage and also act as catalyst for community interest and grant opportunities

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT:

It was obvious from the workshop discussions that the community values the West Wing space. It has been a part of the Nederland town fabric for many years, has served many groups’ needs, and has been the home to key community services. Residents require a functioning and accessible West Wing space, but understand the need for the space to be part of the greater vision for the Community Center, and for the space to be a draw for both residents and visitors to the town of Nederland.