Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/02/2004 Fishers Island Community Center August 2nd, 2004 at the Island Community Office Attending; Judi 1mbriglio Sarah Moody Karla Heath Grace Burr Sara McLean John Thatcher Jan Cook Nate Gray Bruce Kinlin John Thatcher began the meeting by updating the group about a conversation that he had with the Conservancy's lawyers regarding the amount of time required to incorporate as a non-profit corporation. The lawyer felt that it would take 3 to 4 weeks to satisfY the non- profit incorporation requirements if everything moved smoothly. There are 2 requirements, one for the State of New York and one for the IRS. A key component for incorporation is a clear mission statement, which we have. John how long a delay might be if everything did not go according to plan. The lawyer thought that the delay would only be 4 to 5 months. Grace wondered if we needed to first have property for the Community Center if we wanted to incorporate. This isn't a requirement. Bruce joined the group and updated the committee about the changes to the design since the previous meeting. Lily and Bruce worked to decrease the size of the building. Based upon his notes detailing the conversations during the last meeting, space for a teen center, day care center, and hallway near the workout room have been removed. The stage and wings have increased in size, though the theater still has 150 seats. Sara wondered if the stage and wings were large enough to accommodate other uses? Bruce said that they were, but also that the drawings are still schematic and the layout will change and adapt to our needs. In the latest version, there is a small backstage space that abuts the small multi-purpose room. Bruce said that pool now includes an area for sitting or viewing the swimming pool. The drawings do not include an area for parking, though the building is 60 feet from the road so there is ample room for parking spaces. Bruce said that there would be changes to the building as the process evolves. For example the roof may change and could become storage for the theater. Sarah Moody asked if there is going to be a basement? Bruce thought that the entire center area of the facility could have a basement. Bruce then discussed the drawing with the pool at a right angle to the rest of the facility. This decreases the building's footprint and the viewing area moves to the side of the pool, though glass along the workout facility's wall would allow for viewing from that room. This arrangement, though, may not work as well for the site as the angled version. Grace asked about the pool building's exterior and what it may look like. Bruce thought that it could incorporate as much glass as possible and would be very appealing. Sara wondered whether the kitchen should open onto one of the multi-purpose rooms. Grace asked about which door is the front door because there seem to be a lot of ways into the building. Bruce thought that this would depend on the activity/ function underway at the time. Judi wondered where tickets are going to be sold? Bruce showed where the ticket booth is going to be located in the theater. Sara asked about switching the location of the toilets and storage with the office, so that the kitchen opens onto the large multi-purpose room, but that one of the keys is having the office overlook the workout facility. Now the office is directly to the left as one walks into the building, the men's toilet and storage facility are in the women's toilet former location, the women's toilet inherits the kitchen's former location and the kitchen will be where the office formerly was. Judi wondered if these changes would also decrease the size of any of the rooms? Bruce did not think that would happen. Sara wondered where the teen center is located? The group said that the "teen center" would be a scheduled event that would utilize the entire space. Bruce also added that after rearranging the space he would focus on finding more options for storage because in the effort to decrease the size to 6500 square feet some storage was lost. Grace felt that there wasn't a lot of wall space for storage. He thought that there might be another zone for storage after rearranging the kitchen, etc. The group discussed if a dumbwaiter could be incorporated in order to utilize the basement for storage. This will certainly add another cost. Judi wondered how building a finished basement would impact the final cost. Bruce said that we will have to dig a foundation and pour concrete, so steps must be taken but he wasn't sure what the exact cost increase would be. Grace asked if the community center theater would take over the movie theater project? Harold's project is a whole different concept from the community center and both would be a bonus to the community. A number of questions remain regarding the movie theater project because Harold has been extremely busy this summer. Bruce asked the group what changes need to be made to the drawings and what images do we need for our brochure. He could make a rendered drawing, take photos of the model, or include a photo of the building as one approaches the facility along Whistler Ave. Judi told Bruce that the booklet has been put on hold because of the late date and a number of questions remain. Bruce said that his next steps will be to look into increase the amount of storage space and consider the basement. The lift idea might be too expensive and moving tables and the like could be done by hand. He will meet again with the group on August 27th at 12:30pm. The group discussed the IPP meeting on August 19th and whether we should send a representative to that meeting. The group felt that they first needed to discuss what the representative would represent. Additionally, they felt that they needed to discuss whether to become our own non-profit corporation or not. The group discussed what would be the best time to send the brochure since we are not going to send it this summer. Would it be better to send it during the off-season or what till next summer? IHP and the Conservancy send their appeals during the winter, though other organizations feel that it is best to send an appeal while seasonal residents are on the island. This may present problems because seasonal residents may not spend much time with the mail during their vacations because they are focusing on other activities. The initial brochure was going to be sent to potential large donors, but instead it could be sent to everyone. Those that have already been contacted or expressed interest in the project should be contacted again. What about the ferry property? Have they actually said that they will give us the property? We spoke with them during a Commissioners meeting and they supported the idea for a Community Center, but needed to see a firmer plan outlining what we intend to do. John said that it would cost about $3,500, assuming maximum delay, to incorporate and about $1,000 to survey the property. The group felt that we need to begin to find some way to obtain seed money to cover these potential expenses. Next meeting: The group will meet again on Monday, August 16th at 12 pm in the Island Office.