|
By Carey King
Courthouse restoration got a boost Tuesday night (Jan. 6) when
Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo pledged support
for the project.
Speaking to the Courthouse restoration committee, Bardo offered
performance and storage space for Kudzu Players, the community
theater company that has staged productions in the Courthouse
for several years.
Bardo also said that Mountain Heritage Center staff could offer
expertise and artifacts to help create a Courthouse history museum,
and that WCU grant-writers would assist the committee in securing
state and federal funding for the project.
"As we've matured as a university, we realize the only thing
we can do to be successful is to integrate with the community,"
Bardo said, adding that WCU participation in a Courthouse-sited
museum would "give us a presence in Sylva that we've been
looking for."
Unlike places he's been where the university was "just this
weird thing you drove through," Bardo said he hopes Western's
events at the Ramsey Center, Hoey Auditorium, Niggli Theatre,
and the soon-to-open Fine and Performing Arts Center will become
a real draw to Jackson County residents.
"We see the community theater as part of that package,"
he said.
Bob Vartabedian, dean of the university's College of Arts and
Sciences, offered several spaces for Kudzu's use, including Hoey,
Niggli, or a new 200- to 300-seat theater slated to open by late
spring.
WCU could also house the theater company's props and costumes,
Vartabedian said.
Storage space has been one of Kudzu's main concerns in relocation
discussions, said Roberta Crawford, Courthouse committee chairman.
Kudzu Players' performances currently attract an audience between
50 and 75 people, a number that could be much higher if not for
the limitations of the Courthouse space - including poor acoustics,
difficult-to-regulate temperatures, and lack of elevator - committee
members said.
"They will grow if they have better space," said committee
member Irene Hooper.
While the committee has yet to accept Bardo's proposal, Crawford
called the offer a "win-win situation."
"It sounds like what the committee has been hoping for. We
hope it's what the Kudzu Players have been hoping for," she
said.
The committee's next step will be to come up with a dollar amount
needed for restoration to present to county commissioners, who
begin their budget process in February, Crawford said.
The group plans to enlist the aid of Wayne Robinson, an Asheville
architect with old photos of the Courthouse interior, to determine
what work needs to be done.
During coming weeks, the committee will tour the Courthouse to
assess needed repairs to the building and dome, including water
damage, cracks in steps and holes in floors.
|
