PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
The Carleton College Advisory Council on College and Community Relations will host a public meeting on Wednesday, December 12, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at Carleton’s Boliou Hall, Room 104 to present its emerging plans for the development of an Arts Center on the site of the former Northfield Middle School, as well as its construction of a new student residence hall.
This public meeting is a chance for community members to learn the most up-to-date information about these two projects, and for the College to gather feedback and ideas from the community.
As the East Side neighborhood Association (NESNA)’s designated representatives to the Art Center Executive Design Team, we are writing to encourage you to attend this important public meeting to hear about plans for the Art Center and to contribute your ideas and suggestions to the planning process.
As background for that meeting, we have attached notes from our first meeting with the Executive Design Team (See text below). This includes some details about the plans currently under consideration, as well as the concerns and suggestions that have been brought to Carleton to date by NESNA and other community representatives (see list of meeting participants in the report below).
To date, the NESNA Board has conveyed the following community concerns to Carleton:
The need for Carleton to provide adequate additional parking for the facility,
The need to reduce the proposed height (58’) of the building along Fourth Street East,
Aesthetic concerns about how to reconcile the overall mass of the new building with the scale and character of its residential surroundings (primarily composed of older 2-story residences),
Aesthetic issues specifically relating to the proposed outdoor work studio,
Issues relating to the increased use of Central Park by college students, and
The need for a long-term plan for the College’s development of neighborhood
The following suggestions and comments have also been conveyed:
interest in the potential use of the art center for community cultural events, especially during College breaks
anticipation of the easier public access to College-sponsored cultural events and performances (plays, etc.)
interest in the possibility of using the proposed art museum for art shows by local artists,
appreciation for the potential benefit that this facility, as an art center “in residence” within the neighborhood, could have on the young children and adolescent residents of our neighborhood and wider community,
excitement about the increased opportunity for collaborative cultural projects (workshops, seminars, film discussions, etc.) between the community and the college,
We are encouraged that Carleton has invited the community into its planning stages for its Art Center, and we hope you will come to the public meeting on Wednesday, December 12 (6:00 - 7:30 p.m.) to join in this important discussion.
If you are not able to attend this meeting, please free to contact us with any questions about the project, or with concerns or suggestions that have not yet been raised.
Jerri Hurlbutt - jerrioh@charter.net; 581-6162) and
Suzie Nakasian - balaamsmn@yahoo.com; 645-5652)
For more information about the Wednesday meeting, including disability accommodations for the meeting, contact the Carleton College Relations office at (507) 646-4309.
