Monday, October 15, 2012
Residents and councilmembers debated with the 311 W. Main Task Force last week on their recommendation of a full renovation of the former arts center. Their biggest gripe: What's it going to cost to operate the center?
The 311 W. Main Task Force voted 8-1-2 last Tuesday to recommend a full renovation of the former Masonic Temple into an arts and cultural center. In its recommendation, the task force defended its vote with two reasons: it will show to investors that Lansdale is willing to make a commitment toward its future and the economic development of the town, and it will avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, where phased development and mismanagement caused the initial detriment of the building. However, certain councilpeople, dignitaries and residents offered their insights into the vote, as well as support or objection of the task force's recommendation. One outspoken audience member Tuesday night was Lansdale Borough Council Vice President …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Lansdale 311 W. Main Task Force member Lindsay Schweriner — the dissenting vote — said phasing the project is the best way to gain the public's trust and support
Eleven members of the 311 W. Main Task Force have worked since Nov. 1, 2011 to figure out the best recommendation to revive the former performing arts center in downtown Lansdale. For nearly a year, the task force has heard input from residents young and old, reviewed budget figures and renderings from Spiezle Architects, hired arts consultant AMS Planning and Research to guide the task force toward a recommendation, and debated to phase or not to phase the project. In the end, 11 members — including the borough manager and three Lansdale councilmembers — couldn't come to a full consensus over a recommendation on how council should proceed with the future of 311 W. Main St. In the end, majority rules — and the task force voted Tuesday …
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
AMS Planning and Research selected by task force in March as the consultant to guide the 311 W. Main Task Force
The new arts consultant to the 311 W. Main Task Force wants to talk to the community about the renovation and revitalization of the former Shiloh Masonic Lodge on Main Street in Lansdale. AMS Planning & Research will hold the session on April 10 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the borough Parks and Recreation building. The 311 W. Main Task Force tasked the Connecticut firm with drafting a business plan for the potential arts and entertainment community center on March 14. The task force rejected proposals from two firms in December and a steering committee pursued a second round of Requests for Proposals. A total of eight consulting firms responded to the second request for proposal, but with 23-years of art and cultural development experience…
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 …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
"Your municipality owns the building - that's the bottom line," Councilwoman Mary Fuller said. "I'd love to see a white knight ride in and buy it and do something with it, but that's unrealistic."
The development of 311 W. Main St. in Lansdale was another big topic last week at the borough's town hall session. Councilwoman Mary Fuller, who runs the town hall session with Lansdale Business Association president Doug DiPasquale, said the building, and even the Madison Lot project, are all open for ideas. "We need the input," she said. "What do people want with the building? It didn't work in its current condition. How far does the community go with it?" Residents Nancy Frei and John Darab referenced Mayor Andy Szekely's recent blog on Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch regarding the future of the former arts center. In it, Szekely wrote that the idea of "if you build it, they will come" is Hollywood fantasy: an organization must be in …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The 311 W. Main Task Force spent two hours discussing how things could look inside the former arts center, but how will they fund it all?
The Lansdale 311 W. Main Task Force spent 105 minutes Tuesday night discussing green room locations, portable dressing rooms, bathroom layouts, sloped theaters, soundboard setups, expanding theaters to more than 300 seats, moveable chairs, flexible mutli-purpose theaters, food courts and art. At the end, borough council vice president Paul Clemente said he supported the arts, and the efforts are all well and good. Then, he asked a big question: Where's the money? "I have a simple question that piggybacks off of (Montgomery County Planner Brian) O’Leary's, and that is this whole discussion seems to be very academic thus far because nobody’s talking about where the funding is coming from," Clemente said. "We have an estimate that’s $4.5 …
Friday, December 2, 2011
An online petition to make 311 W. Main St. an all-ages venue for local and touring bands is nearing 1,000 signatures. Meet the men with the plan.
In under 24 hours, a petition on Change.org to make 311 W. Main Street an all-ages venue for local and touring bands to play shows has garnered 947 signatures. Those signatures aren’t just the names of teens, young adults and adults in the North Penn area; the names reach as far as New York and California and have been promoted by bands like The Wonder Years. The essence behind the petition is a musical movement – to revitalize a dying music scene that once flourished in Lansdale. People don’t want to lose this scene, and they don’t want to lose 311 W. Main St. To sign the petition, click this link. “Growing up in the Lansdale, PA area, the underground music scene gave us all a place to do something positive, productive, and creative all …
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Part two of three stories on the inaugural meeting of the 311 W. Main Street Task Force
The 311 W. Main Street Task Force got a reprisal Tuesday night from Scott Malin, senior associate of Spiezle Architects, on the code violations inside the building at 311 W. Main St., and possible conceptual ideas for what the property could become in the future. “Our codes department went into the building, and essentially determined there are code issues in the building,” said borough manager Timi Kirchner. “Two questions were asked: Can and should the building be opened to the public? Are there any significant issues with regard to life and safety?” Kirchner said a report by engineers Remington, Vernick and Beach determined there were 39 code violations found in the building: 14 dealing with accessibility; 10 with fire-rated …
Part one of three stories looking at the inaugural meeting of the 311 W. Main Street Task Force
Advisors Assemble! The 311 West Main Street Task Force convened for its inaugural meeting Tuesday night, where they elected a chairman and vice-chairman and reviewed the structural integrity and conceptual plans for the former performing arts center. Councilman Mike Sobel was elected chairman of the task force by unanimous vote. He was nominated by councilwoman Mary Fuller and seconded by Robert Willi. Charles Booz, owner of Chantilly Floral, was unanimously named vice chairman, nominated by Fuller and seconded by council president Matt West. Task force member Amy Rims nominated James “Royale” Collins. However, Collins said he would be willing to work with anyone. “I’d like to take a crack at it,” said Booz. The Board Each member …
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The first meeting of the group assigned to look at the future of the former Lansdale performing arts center
The seven-member 311 W. Main Street Task Force inaugurally meets tonight at 7 p.m. at Lansdale Borough Hall, where it will begin discussing the future of the former Lansdale performing arts center. Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch was the first to bring you an exclusive interview with one of the members, Amy Rims, of Lansdale, before news was broken to the community on formation of the task force. Who Is On the Task Force? Seven community members – four from the arts and entertainment field and three from the North Penn area – make up the task force. They are: Richard Kardon was apponted a member, but he is no longer on the task force. He was replaced by Schweriner. Kardon is president and general manager of Point Entertainment in Narberth. …
Gordon Galt
1:06 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
This guy Paul Clemente is a wanna be. We need to honestly replace him on the board. He doesn't even live in Lansdale anymore! He lives in Blue Bell! He is a real bum. Definitely has a napoleon complex. more ›