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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-11-13-CRC-min November 13, 1980 TO CENTER REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE FROM Margery Battin & Jacquie Smith RE November 12 meeting with the Lexington Arts Council We met with the Lexington Arts Council to brief them on the purpose of the Committee and to explore with them how their work and study might mesh with ours to maximize the social and cultural potential of the Center We outlined (1) the Selectmen's Goals for the Center, (2) the elements of the Center Study, including the MAPC economic work; and (3) the current support of the Arts by the Chamber through its on-going promotions We stressed that the Comittee was aware of the rich cultural resources of Lexington and of the civic and business interest in supporting cultural activities Unfortunately, we also had to stress the fact that there is a total lack of funds to undertake any major projects thanks to Prop 2; and inflation. Co-Chairs Molly Nye and Tina Forbes led a discussion of possible directions in which the Council might be moving and how they might interact with the study of the Center. Some of the ideas expressed were -- - Developing and analyzing a town-wide needs assessment of the arts; - Developing the Visitors Center along the lines of the National Park Visitors Center - Defining plans for an arts center - studios, theatre areas, a greenhouse perhaps utilizing one of the older school buildings - Acting as a catalyst or organizer for art festivals, e g , DeCordova or Xmas Revels at Sanders Theatre - Coordinating and publicizing Lexington's many current cultural activities The questions of funding beyond that of the Lottery was discussed. One suggestion was for a local regulation requiring that 1% of construction or major rehabilitation costs on public buildings be required to be spent on the arts This is being done by the Federal government on transportation projects and by the city of Cambridge Marge suggested that alternative funding sources should be explored and documented -- but again, with money for even the basic services in question, no new funded programs would probably get through Town Meeting for several years She emphasized the opportunity the Council has to add to the richness of life in Lexington by designing programs that allow for the interaction of people of ages A real sense of community and family life can be developed through such cultural activities One issue we feel the Council should address - and that we should discuss in our Committee work is - Should the primary goal of cultural activity in Lexington be enrichment of life for its citizens (and only peripherally for out-of-towners) or is the goal to make Lexington a regional cultural center? And, what is possible in the current negative economic climate? Another issue for our Committee to discuss is -- Does Lexington want to encourage (increase) tourism or just update current efforts? What are the impacts should we contemplate increases? CC to Molly Nye Tina Forbes