Last night after I attended the special Common Council meeting, I decided to join Alderwoman Wilhelm and Franklin resident Scott Thinnes by walking down the hall to check out the Franklin Cultural Arts Center's community outreach meeting. The meeting was mainly a powerpoint presentation given by the President of ArtsMarket, which is the firm hired to do the feasibility study for the FCAC.
The presentation and the discussion made by the ArtsMarket President was very informative. It showcased multipurpose arts centers across the nation, from California to Denver's suburbs to Skokie, Illinois. It also provided a variety of concepts that arts centers can take on, from performance halls to truly a multifunctional facility that can hold various items from weddings to business conferences to performances all at the same time.
Perhaps a disappointment to the meeting was a very low attendance from the general public. I believe there was only 5 citizens present, including myself and Scott Thinnes. I can't say I'm completely surprised about this, however. During my time as a blogger, I've noticed that 95% of the time when I get the most reactions and comments from Franklin residents is via electronic communications - - e-mail, online petitions, and online polls and forums. Going to Common Council meetings to speak at citizens comment periods is truly a thing of the past for this community. So is going to outreach meetings for projects that aren't set in stone or have received much attention via the media or the elected leadership in City Hall...which probably is the bigger disappointment of the evening.
Personally, I find the Common Council's position(s) and stance(s) on the Franklin Cultural Arts Center rather puzzling. The most I see several aldermen do is lip service for the center, if even that. Alderman Steve Olson, for example, seems to enjoy the opportunity whenever it presents itself to provide some criticism of the proposed center. I'll assume that's because his former rival, Don Dorsan, is spear-heading the project and devotes much of his personal time to its future success. Regarding this meeting, I find the lack of aldermen present to just hear the expert on arts centers speak rather disturbing. It must have been what people in my high school days would call a "TMI": Too Much Information. Hearing an expert on arts centers and their impacts on the community both economically and socially must have not been worth hearing for those aldermen. By the way, when I speak of aldermen I'm pointing my fingers at Aldermen Steve Olson, Lyle Sohns, and Tim Solomon. Olson is on the Economic Development Commission, and Tim Solomon is on the Parks Commission and the Community Center Ad-hoc Committee, of which the FCAC could include a community center if the city can learn to be more cooperative with nonprofit organizations.
It puzzles me as to how the Common Council can truly take strong stances on the Franklin Cultural Arts Center when only one member of it actually took the time out of her daily tasks to listen and learn potential benefits. Kudos to Alderwoman Kristen Wilhelm for at least spending 30 mins after the Council meeting attending the FCAC's presentation down the hall. As for Olson, Sohns, and Solomon, I can't think of any excuses for them not even spending 5 minutes after the meeting at the FCAC's presentation. To me, it just indicates to me that they're not interested in the project and don't want to see it succeed...which is a true shame for Franklin residents.
The main thing I learned from the meeting was that there are a variety of items to include or put aside for future expansions for the future cultural arts center. The price tags can also vary from a few million to tens of millions of dollars. Some centers were built alongside country clubs and corporate retreats. Some were so big they seconded as convention centers that rivaled urban downtowns. Some were anchors to major commercial centers that included upscale shopping, hotels, and residences. Some were simply attached to the local high school, or located on the high school's property. All had their perks, and all had some possible restrictions. However, all were very feasible to be built in Franklin, and several sites throughout the community provide ample space for such a facility.
A question asked by Mr. Thinnes will definitely be the biggest question for the FCAC to grasp: Who is the FCAC's customer, and how do they expect to maintain a successful business model to remain afloat. The discussion ranged from being centrally located in Franklin (perhaps with a smaller facility) to one that would facilitate multiple jurisdictions (suburbs) and thus have a committee set-up to carry out the construction and operations.
After the meeting, I approached Don Dorsan and applauded the presentation. I also spoke to new Community Development Authority member Jim Mullarkey, who is on the FCAC Board of Directors, and mentioned to him a potential problem with the FCAC concept. It's the notion that the FCAC claims to be providing services to multiple suburbs, and wishes to gain support from multiple suburbs, but yet the "F" remains in the FCAC. "F" stands for "Franklin", and why would Greendale or Oak Creek support a center that seems to be solely dedicated to Franklin? Perhaps that's another task to overcome, and hopefully the Board of Directors for the organization are looking into changing the name to something more neutral to gain more brownie points with the neighboring burbs.
On a last note, hopefully more Council and School Board members spend some time in looking at this project seriously. I wish the FCAC and Mr. Dorsan luck and success for this venture.
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