Woodbury Arts Center a Step Closer to Reality

More than six years have passed since the idea for an arts center and theater was first presented to the South Washington County School Board, but through hard work and a sizeable donation, plans for the facility were finally approved at the board’s April 21 meeting.

The school board, the Woodbury Arts Connection—the organization that will manage the facility—and numerous players in community education programs in Woodbury and surrounding cities have been mulling through the plans and financing options for the proposed facility since 2005.

Mike Vogel, assistant to the superintendent for operations at South Washington County Schools, presented the final draft of the proposal to the school board during the meeting, and it passed by a swift 5-0 vote. School board members Ron Kath and David Kemper were absent from the meeting.

Highlights of the Agreement

Before the vote, Vogel outlined the proposed agreement for the school board.

He mentioned that the construction costs for the project will be fully funded by Arts Connection through a donation to District 833.

The arts center will be largely funded by a by late Woodbury resident Dorothy Merrill. Her moniker will also serve as the name of the arts center, which will be an addition onto .

The arts center's main attraction will be a 150-seat black box theater.

The center will also be used for rehearsals, and set and costume storage for numerous arts aficionados around the metro associated with .  

Vogel said District 833 will own the addition and contract for its construction. The district is currently in the process of soliciting bids for the project, and will have all bids before the board by Thursday. Vogel said the board could make a decision about which contractor to use as soon as May 5.

Another highlight Vogel detailed was that Arts Connection will be the sole tenant of the facility, and it will have 24-7 access to the space.

However, students at East Ridge will have ample time to use the facility during and after school.

“Arts Connection will grant District 833 use of the black box theater during the school day and during nine one-week periods after school throughout the year,” Vogel said. “District 833 will also allocate 10 percent of the ticket revenue or $5,000—whatever is greater annually—to Arts Connection events held in three three-week blocks of time.”

Vogel added that the ticket revenue allocated to Arts Connection will be used to maintenance and repair of the Merrill Community Arts Center.

Excited to break ground

Michelle Witte, vice president of Arts Connection, applauded when the school board approved the agreement.

She told Patch that the process of approving the project has had its highs and lows over the years, especially when it came to figuring out how the facility would be funded, but she’s looking forward to seeing shovels sink into dirt soon.

Groundbreaking on the project could begin as soon as June, right after East Ridge seniors have graduated.

Superintendent Mark Porter reiterated the point that approval of a plan to bring an arts center to East Ridge took extensive planning and effort, and he, like others involved in the project, is anxious to see the project completed.

“(This agreement) did indeed take some endless hours…,” he said. “This has been an extended effort, and it’s a tremendous partnership and a tremendous opportunity for the community. This is one of the major steps in the process, but in all honesty, we have some more. We’re very excited and pleased to be able to present this agreement.”