Boosters Fear Church Purchase Endangers Arts Center/Plaza Fountain Project

The Cultural Arts Center Committee meeting in spring and summer of 2005 discussed acquiring the adjacent Old Methodist Church property as envisioned by the LCI Study. After the committee was told Clark Patterson's contract was to consider only one site where the old schoolhouse once sat on College Street facing Jones Street, the committee's efforts turned toward designing a single, unitized mega-structure for an all-encompassing Community and Cultural Arts Center. Consequently, the structure grew from a modest 5 thousand square foot Performing Arts Center costing $1 ½ million dollars to over 20,000 square foot behemoth estimated to cost from $6 million to $10 million dollars. Citizens and taxpayers wonder how they could afford to maintain the structure.

On the afternoon prior to the June 5 City Council meeting and church purchase hearing and final vote, resident and former councilmember Josh Bare circulated a letter from resident Rob Buck, an attorney, to Council members Lovelady, Riehm, Bowie and Smith who signed the proposed church purchase agreement. Smith stated he did not want to be sued and voted NAY when the question was called.

Councilmember David McLeroy confirmed during the church hearing that he had arranged an off-site meeting at the Burper Paint store on Cemetery Street May 31 to conduct his own "due diligence" and had a report from the "professionals" who looked at the church, but he did not produce a copy of a report or identify the consultants. McLeroy said he was not against purchasing the property, but objected to using Special Use Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) money for the purchase.

• See Design for mega-Cultural Arts Center 
• Read Buck Letter to 4 Council members