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Perhaps the best book I read last summer
was A Field Guide to Good Decisions, written by Mark D.
Bennett and Joan McIver Gibson. According to the authors, “Even
when the decision seems to be the business of only one person
[or group], others invariably are affected. Their perspectives
are important early on, as the decision takes shape. The issue
is not an insistence on group consensus or a softhearted concern
for the needs of others. Rather, it is a hardheaded assessment
that decisions improve when we take steps to engage those who
have a stake in the outcome.” (p. 25) If you’re asking yourself
what all this has to do with Kiawah Island, hang in here with me
for a few more paragraphs.
At their November 7 meeting, Town Council voted unanimously to
move forward on what is described as a feasibility study for a
Freshfields Village Community Performance Center. The cost of
the study, not to exceed $50,000, will come from either the
Beverage Permit Fund or state Accommodations Tax money already
set aside in the 2007 budget for this purpose. According to
Councilman Don McIver, the project’s chief advocate, the Town is
engaging FTL Design Engineering Studio in New York to develop a
preliminary site design and acoustic analysis for this
amphitheater. McIver indicated that FTL is the leading firm of
its type in the country in the design of such facilities. In
addition to designing several structures for the 1996 Olympics
in Atlanta, FTL has designed major performance facilities
throughout the US.
McIver envisions the community performance center project as a
joint Kiawah-Seabrook effort. The current proposal is to locate
the facility near the lagoon at the entrance to Freshfields
Village, on land donated by Freshfields (KRA). Depending on size
and intended use, this facility could have a profound impact on
our Island communities.
Following the meeting I spoke with Mayor Bill Wert and
Councilman McIver about their plans to formally solicit
community input on the project. I suggested it would be a good
idea to understand what the community would like to see and
would agree to support at Freshfields before the Town contracts
for what the actual proposal refers to as “design and planning
services.” They assured me there would be plenty of time for
community feedback after preliminary plans become available.
This conversation brings me back to the book mentioned above . .
. Some decisions are simply so important that it makes sense to
engage representatives of all stakeholders early in the decision
making process.
Here are a few questions that I’d like to see asked and answered
before the Town proceeds.
(1) Does the community want a performance center at Freshfields?
In KICA’s 2006 survey, of six possible cooperative ventures, a
performing arts facility near Kiawah was rated 1st or 2nd by
only 20% of respondents. Were those respondents actually
residents living here a good portion of the year, or do they
only vacation here occasionally? Compare that 20% to the 66% of
respondents who rated access roads between Kiawah and Charleston
as their 1st or 2 nd priority.
(2) If such a facility were to be built, how big should it be
and for what purpose? Should it be an open amphitheatre or an
enclosed structure? Should it be designed to accommodate
occasional performances primarily for our Island communities or
for regularly scheduled performances marketed to the greater
Charleston area? Currently the Town funds Arts Council events
from October through April. McIver has stated that the
amphitheatre would be available for programs from April through
October. Does this mean the Town would support the amphitheatre
as well as programs held at other venues?
(3) What impact might a heavily used performance center have on
already problematic traffic?
(4) Seabrook’s new Horizon Plan, a $30m+ construction project
addressing that island’s need for amenities now and at
build-out, includes a large grassed area that could be used for
outdoor performances. Since the Freshfields Village Community
Performance Center is ideally a shared project, to what extent
are Seabrook property owners interested in such a facility at
Freshfields, and what kind of financial commitment would they be
willing to make?
(5) Would Kiawah move forward with a Community Performance
Center at Freshfields without support from Seabrook?
(6) Another interesting and potentially controversial question
that needs to be asked relates to the property on which the
performance center would be constructed. Freshfields is located
on an unincorporated portion of Seabrook Island. If Kiawah
accepts property there for such a facility, does this presume or
presage a move to annex Freshfields into our community? If so,
what are the broader ramifications of such an annexation?
Some have suggested that with the choice of consultant and the
nature of the deliverables, it at least appears that the Town is
inexorably moving toward construction of a large performing arts
venue – whether the community has any interest in this or not.
This may or may not be the case, and this may or may not be good
for Kiawah. Either way, it is neither presumptuous nor premature
to want to understand what’s in it for Kiawah.
While the mix of resident and non-resident property owners may
complicate the research process, isn’t it prudent to answer
fundamental questions such as these before we start talking
about topography, requirements for utilities, and acoustical
features? A survey of property owners on both islands, as well
as a traffic impact study of our already stressed access roads
appear to be critical input to any feasibility or planning
study. Bringing the community to the table now - at the concept
stage - may slow the process a bit, but too much is at stake to
do otherwise. Let’s make sure that if and when we move forward
on a project of this magnitude that we’re working on a shared
vision. |
