An informal workshop Dec. 11 to discuss options to make more and better use of the Guest House Museum hatched several ideas, including possible changes to the lawn and the appointment of a part-time director.

The City-conducted workshop in Town Hall was held to solicit ideas and develop a community vision for the museum and grounds, to be incorporated into a master plan. Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. was hired to prepare the plan, which will “provide guidance regarding future improvements to the Guest House facility and grounds and will identify opportunities for enhancing the museum operations,” according to the City’s meeting notice.

Michael Garavaglia, AIA, Principal, Preservation Architect and Becky Urbano, with Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. gave some history of the site and explained that when it was conveyed to the City, there was a requirement that it be used for cultural purposes. Urbano said the vision was to include all aspects of the site’s use, including possible landscaping, features, exhibits, programs and uses.

Land Use Planner Amy Wynn said she had interviewed several people involved in the museum, who were all passionate and had several ideas.

Commenting on the site’s strengths, Urbano said Historical Society members care deeply about the museum and work hard to keep it open and the museum is prominently located to attract visitors. It was also noted that the giant crosscut redwood log on the south portion of the property, attracts visitors

to the museum.

Regarding the museum’s weaknesses, some people suggested that its signs should be more prominent and that the access sidewalk is shrouded by plants, making it hard for visitors to see how to walk to it.

Suggestions

and ideas

Over the course of the informal three-hour workshop, several ideas were presented and discussed, including a partnership with the Skunk Train to provide museum gift certificates, more signage around the city, re-landscaping the front lawn to include a more visible sidewalk and picnic tables, prominent placement of timber-industrial artifacts, and cutting back of area bushes and plants to dissuade illegal camping and activity. Some suggested that educational programs be implemented through partnerships with local schools.

Weller House Inn owner Vivien LaMothe said she’d recently attended a West Company meeting that discussed marketing aimed at users of mobile devices through QR codes that would connect them to websites, historical photos and more information.

She said she has presented the idea to the Historical Society, Garden Society and Soroptimists, all of which are enthusiastic about the technology. LaMothe explained by phone later that she feels Fort Bragg is well-positioned to implement such technology to get more people interested in local history.

Johanna Jensen suggested that the museum could partner with the Paul Bunyan Days Association to enhance promotion. She also noted that the museum is difficult for people with limited mobility.

City Council member Scott Dietz said pedestrian access needs to be enhanced and made more prominent so visitors know the museum is open to the public. He said that in 36 years on the Coast, he had only been there once.

Group ideas

After breaking into groups for 45 minutes, speakers returned with ideas and suggestions.

Speaking for her group, City Manager Linda Ruffing suggested construction of a sidewalk from the Skunk Train Depot and pavement leading into the west parking areas behind the museum. The group discussed removing some of the vegetation and possibly creating a small plaza by the historic clock and redwood log. The group also discussed having picnic tables on landscaped areas nearby.

Ruffing said the current landscaping is not a historic feature, and suggested a partnership with the Gardens Society to revegetate the area in a way that denotes a connection to the Coast Botanical Gardens.

In response to a previous comment, she suggested fixing the building’s weathered gutters and possibly repainting parts of the building after the original color has been determined.

It was suggested that rather than erect a new Christmas tree on the Guest House Lawn every December, the City could simply plant a permanent one on the lawn.

Ruffing said that planting an evergreen tree on the Guest House lawn would likely detract attention from the museum itself. She suggested the possibility of instead lighting and decorating a large holly tree which is already on the grounds.

For her group, Jensen said the large grass lawn can be a barrier to those with limited mobility and suggested terraced landscaping there. She suggested moving the museum’s sign closer to the street and include changeable elements to inform people of events, hours and programs.

She suggested investigating partnerships with local timber companies to highlight efforts toward sustainable forestry, rather than the logging industry of the past.

Weddings, live music events on the lawn and promotion of tech attractions like geocaching were also discussed.

For her Group, City Community Development Director Marie Jones said the group discussed possible ways to attract those who come to town for the Skunk Train and involve both in promotions. She said her group was divided on the subject of a permanent tree.

Regarding a previously-suggested amphitheater west of the museum, Jones said it would not be appropriate, especially since a large amphitheater is already in the plans for reuse of the mill site.

She said local artifacts could be placed around the site and encouraged the placement of “anything climbable” for kids.

Rosalie Gjerde said her group’s plans were similar to others aside from wanting more pedestrian walkways.

Amy Wynn said her “group of two” discussed having a prominent front path right up to the museum that would be visible from the street. She said the site’s shrubs and bushes are necessary to block the coastal wind and protect other vegetation there.

She suggested creation of connections to other historic attractions in such a way that would not detract from downtown foot traffic.

Director position

Some discussion centered around the possible appointing of a museum director who would be employed by the City.

Jones said the position would not need to be full-time. Ruffing said she would look into the possibility and suggested that a City staff position could be created to take that responsibility.

At the close of the meeting, Urbano said the firm would need to speak with a cost estimator before a draft master plan can be created.

City Planner Teresa Spade said that while a specific date has not been set, staff and consultants hope to have a draft master plan complete for City Council review by February or March 2013.

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)– A grass roots effort to remake St. Louis’ image is gaining steam.  Several ideas have been submitted and voted on, and now the five most popular are about to enter the stage of being funded through Rally St. Louis.

“I think if you talk to a lot of people outside of St. Louis, they’re not sure what to make of our city or region for that matter,” founder Aaron Perlut said Thursday.  “We all understand the benefits of living in our region, but there are a lot of people outside that don’t and we’re hoping to paint that picture.”

Rally St. Louis is the brainchild of Perlut, one of the managing partners in the Elasticity public relations firm downtown.  It began a little over a year ago when he wrote an article for Forbes Magazine entitled, “St. Louis Doesn’t Suck.”

The Forbes post, and the efforts that followed, have drawn national attention.  The New York Times commented on the somewhat new, social media approach.

“Unlike the traditional, top-down civic betterment campaigns that are backed by the likes of chambers of commerce, Rally St. Louis is taking a bottom-up approach,” the paper  reported in November.

Rally encouraged people to submit their own ideas and vote on the ideas of others as to how to market the city.  And he discovered something very quickly.

“I realized the ideas weren’t going to be traditional marketing ideas, they were going to be community improvement ideas,” he said.

The best example is what is currently the top vote getter.  It’s not a snappy ad campaign.  It’s called “Food Roof,” a rooftop farm designed to provide organic produce in a coop fashion.

“To serve the thousands of downtown residents who live here, potentially to restaurants, donate some to charity.  St. Patrick’s Center is just a block away. Basically bring the farm to the people,” Mary Ostafi told us.

In her day job she makes sure projects for the HOK Architectural firm are environmentally friendly, but now she’s heading up the “Food Roof” endeavor as they begin to try and raise money.

“We started a downtown community garden last year and this project came to be as a result of that.  So when Rally StL came on board it seemed like a great opportunity to get more exposure to what we’re trying to do.”

Even something as simple as a mural is taken to a different level by those submitting ideas to the project.

The dilapidated Cotton Belt building, north of downtown, is slated to become a massive, 45,000 square foot work of art, aimed at welcoming those driving across the new Mississippi River Bridge.  What is currently a pile of dirt in the front is also slated for landscaping.

Tom Nagel, who came up with the idea, is thinking big regarding who might do the painting.

“We hope to attract national, local, international artists because the scale is just so magnificent that we’re really excited about it,” he said.

A National Soccer Hall of Fame, a local pickup soccer space, and a proposal to put blacktop basketball courts on blighted lots round out the top five proposals so far.  Next month, the process of funding them will begin.  Users on the site will be able to make donations to their favorite projects, with the promise of a refund if they aren’t fully funded.  The hope is that large companies and wealthy benefactors will get involved in some of the projects alongside the grassroots donors that are expected to chip in.

Rally St. Louis has already raised about $250 thousand in operating funds.   What all this will produce remains to be seen, but it’s clear it will be the product of a community consensus.

“The crowd is really speaking to what is popular,” Perlut said, “so we’ve kind of democratized the process and we’re really seeing what St. Louisans want to truly represent our community as a whole.”

Links:

Rally St. Louis site:   http://www.rallystl.org/

NY Times Article on Rally St. Louis

Forbes:  St. Louis Doesn’t Suck 

Using less water is the cheapest way to meet Texas’ long-term water needs. The state water plan envisions nearly a quarter of Texas’ future water supplies coming from conservation. So what could and should Texas lawmakers do to promote the idea of saving water?

This is a tricky question, because conservation is generally the domain of local authorities. The nature of water supplies varies tremendously from place to place. Some towns may have fairly stable reservoirs, while others draw from diminishing aquifers. So local groups maintain day-to-day management of their water supplies, including ordering restrictions at times of drought (as many Texas cities have).

But environmentalists and some lawmakers say the state has a key role to play in promoting conservation. Blanket statewide watering restrictions seem politically infeasible, given the unpopularity of mandates. But other options abound. State Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, has filed a bill to create a sales-tax exemption for water-saving appliances sold over Memorial Day weekend, and environmentalists’ other ideas (not yet in bills) include requiring farmers to put meters on their water wells and preventing homeowners’ associations from barring drought-resistant landscaping. Improving how Texas measures water use and water savings is also high on the agenda of the Water Conservation Advisory Council, a group that brings together representatives of numerous state agencies.

Texas has passed water-conservation bills in the past. In fact, Texas and California rank first among all states in water efficiency, according to a September report from the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Texas accumulated points for laws such as requiring water utilities to audit their water losses and limiting the amount of water that toilets and urinals can use. (A 2009 measure by state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, tightened the limits, some of which take effect in 2014.) The Legislature created the Water Conservation Advisory Council in 2007; last month it produced a report filled with recommendations for the Legislature.

But Texas, with its fast-growing population, needs to do more, water experts say. “Even though we’re requiring [utilities to have water conservation plans and] we’re requiring reports on implementation, at the end of the day there is just not enforcement of any of those things,” said Carole Baker, executive director of the nonprofit Texas Water Foundation. Requiring more consistent implementation of water conservation plans is one area where the Legislature could act, she said.