Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Laura Burnham, the contracted consultant for the development of 311 W. Main St., updated the Economic Development Committee and Communication Commission Monday night on her roles and goals for the future arts center in Lansdale.
Laura Burnham, the new consultant for 311 W. Main St., is ready to tackle many roles toward one main goal: make the historic Masonic Temple property a cultural destination for the Lansdale community and beyond. Burnham also has another goal on her checklist: make nonprofit Discover Lansdale both the fundraising arm for and managing head of 311 W. Main St. "My role, in particular, with Lansdale, is to facilitate the desire that you all have made a commitment to: to have a viable and vibrant arts center in the center of town, and a place that can also drive economic development and enliven the downtown," Burnham told members of the joint session of the Economic Development Committee and Communication Commission Monday night. "That's one of …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Lansdale Borough Council will vote to authorize a $35,000, 48-day contract with the former executive director of the Abington Arts Center for professional consulting services for 311 W. Main Street.
Lansdale Borough could have an arts consultant on board tonight, whom will aid in the development, creation, operation and management of 311 W. Main Street — all in a span of six months. Council is poised to vote at a special meeting at 9 p.m. to enter into a 48-day, $35,000 contract, not to exceed six months of work, with Laura E. Burnham, of Elkins Park, the former executive director of the Abington Arts Center for 25 years. According to the motion, Burnham would provide professional consulting services "related to the development, creation, operation and management of a community arts and cultural center." Per the contract, the not-to-exceed price for the project is $34,560, plus a maximum of $500 in expenses. The borough will pay …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Lansdale Borough Solicitor Mark Hosterman suggested the delay because final details need to be worked out on both contracts
Four major votes set on the agenda tonight in Lansdale Borough will be delayed due to ironing out details on respective contracts. Borough Solicitor Mark Hosterman Wednesday afternoon advised council remove four items from its agenda for its Wednesday evening work session: A major agenda item, which has caused a stir of controversy and a push for petitions from residents, was on whether or not for Spiezle Architects to be contracted to proceed on drafting alternative options for the municipal complex. It did not mean a vote on the demolition of borough hall. According to Borough Manager Timi Kirchner, the delay "is due to the fact that we have final details to work out in each of these contracts and that we want council to have ample time …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Council accepted the recommendation from the 311 W. Main Task Force to move toward a single phase of construction, as long as specific criteria are met
Renovation of the eyesore at 311 W. Main St. in Lansdale is a go. After 90 minutes of presentations and civil discussions, Lansdale Borough Council Wednesday night voted 6-3 toapprove the recommendation from the 311 W. Main Task Force to pursue the framework for the vision of renovating the former arts center in one complete, full phase into a mixed-use arts and cultural center. However, along the way, council must seek the guidance of an architect and arts consultant to fulfill other specific requirements of the recommendation, such as: Borough Manager Timi Kirchner revealed Wednesday that the borough will have a dedicated county grant writer aiding in its process. The vote last night did not commit Lansdale Borough to spending any money …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Got 10 minutes? AMS Planning and Research asks potential users of the 311 W. Main arts center to take a brief anonymous survey to find out their wants and needs - and you can win prizes too
It was revealed Wednesday night at the 311 W. Main Task Force meeting that the primary market for successful potential users of the future Lansdale arts and entertainment center is within a 15-minute commute from the borough's downtown. That's the radius where AMS Planning and Research Corp., the Connecticut firm hired by the task force as its consultant, will focus its market analysis for the renovation and programming of the former Masonic temple on Lansdale's Main Street into a community arts and entertainment mecca. But the firm cannot rely on that analysis alone -- an analysis that relies heavily on The Nielsen Company's PRIZM model, a geo-demographic market segmentation for the suburban Lansdale area. (Nielsen is the same company …
Monday, February 13, 2012
The 311 W. Main Task Force is relying on an arts and entertainment consultant to guide them toward fundraising to cover the $3.4 million cost of fixing the former arts center
The words “money” or “funding” won’t show up on the 311 W. Main Task Force agenda until an arts and entertainment consultant is hired to steer them in the right direction. “We want to seek professional help from a professional group that does this,” said chairman Mike Sobel at the Feb. 7 meeting. “We want to do it once, do it right and get it done right. Failure is not an option.” Lansdale Parks and Recreation Director Carl Saldutti said the borough would be interviewing three consultants this week. It would be the second round of interviews, as respondents from the first Request for Proposals didn’t live up to what the task force was looking for in a consultant. He said eight proposals were submitted, and task force members ranked each …
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
A steering committee of the task force rejected two proposals following presentations and interview process
It’s back to the drawing board in finding a consultant to aid the 311 W. Main Task Force in revitalizing the former arts center in Lansdale. A task force steering committee rejected the presentations and proposals of two consultants this month. The search will now be expanded nationwide to find a group or individual to guide the task force toward its goal of refurbishing and reopening 311 W. Main St. Task force member and borough parks and recreation director Carl Saldutti told the audience at the Dec. 13 meeting that there would be no recommendation for a consultant. “The entire package, what we felt we needed to guide the group through this process, to get us from Point A to Point B with a successful conclusion, we felt it wasn’t …
Kerry Boehm
4:40 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
I think the people who actually want an Arts Center should be the ones who pony up the cash to make it happen. more ›