Title
Conceptual Plan for Downtown Farmer's Market and Conservatory
Body
Issue/Request:
The City Council placed the following question on the April 2, 2013 general election ballot for consideration by our community:
Question 1: Cultural Arts - Downtown Cultural Arts Campus and Legacy Park Amphitheater in the amount of $2.9M (results: Yes: 4,100 No: 1,789)
"Shall the City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, issue its general obligation bonds in the amount of $2,898,000 for the purpose of constructing and rehabilitating public improvements for cultural arts, including improvements to the Legacy Park Amphitheater, rehabilitating the old downtown post office/city hall building, and creating a downtown outdoor performance and festival space?"
The proposed improvements were based on the 2007 Cultural Arts Plan and 2012 Cultural Facilities Master Plan. These projects were also supported by goals in the Quality of Life Key Performance Area of the strategic visioning document LS360: Charting Tomorrow, and the Mayor’s Cultural Facilities Task Force.
Legacy Amphitheater Improvements: Enhancements to the existing permanent performance and entertainment venue for all ages that include:
· Stage
· Backstage support facilities
· Box office
· Restrooms
· Sound and lighting support facilities
· Fencing/sound control
Cultural Arts Campus Downtown: The campus vision is the preservation and rehabilitation of a former post office/city hall at 220 S Main, for use as:
· An interpretive historical center to tell our City’s story
· An open air festival plaza and public performance space behind the historic building
During the community planning processes for the “open air festival plaza and public performance space” several challenges became known regarding this proposal:
a) The property owner of the target site south of the WPA Post Office demanded a sale price that would consume a majority of the $600,000 assigned to this project; and,
b) The proposed location was rather lim...
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