The Monroe Monitor & Valley News, Monroe, Washington, The Voice of the Sky Valley Since 1899

Monroe needs performing arts center, council says

by POLLY KEARY, STAFF WRITER

I Monroe has a community band and a community theater, but no place to hear them play or watch them perform, say members of the Monroe Arts Council. So they are preparing to hold meetings to discuss ways to bring a performing arts center to Monroe.

“We need a place for musical, theatrical and sporting events, as well as conferences,” said Leonie Saaski, who with her husband owns Monroe’s only dedicated art gallery, Art Merchant International.
All the meeting halls in the area are rather small, seating about 125 people or so, said her husband Elrich.

That’s too small to host mid-sized events such as business conferencs, he said. "It would be nice if we could bring some folks in from out of town.’"

Coming up with money for public buildings is never easy, but the town of Bothell recently came up with a good solution, Erich said.
Bothell’s new North Shore Performing Arts Center is on school property, and is shared with the school district, which also shares the cost.

The Saaskis believe the city could explore grants and perhaps corporate sponsorship as well. Good land is still available for such a facility, they said. "There might be some land coming available near the airport,” said Elrich. “And then maybe off the Fryelands, or near the downtown.”

Another possibility raised by the school district is that of retrofitting the currently unused Frank Wagner Auditorium, Elrich added.
Such is district interest that superintendent Ken Hoover recently gave the Monroe Arts Council a presentation on the auditorium in hopes that it could become a performing arts center.

The real issue, Elrich said, isn’t getting the funds, but rather to make the facility pay for itself once it is built. So it makes sense to have a facility that is very versatile. The right facility could be a boon to the city’s economy, the Saaskies said. “I think if the conference center comes, the hotels will come,” said Leonie.

The idea of a performing arts center isn’t new to Monroe. For a while, the city hoped to include one in plans for the North Kelsey Village shopping center. So far, the funding has been hard to identify. But Monroe is growing, and will need such a center sooner or later, the Saaskies said.

“Now that the area’s grown, maybe the time has come,” said Elrich. “We’ll see.”

The meeting to discuss ideas for a performing arts center will take place Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the YMCA, 14033 Fryelands Blvd., Monroe.

For more information, call the Monroe Arts Council at (360) 794-7844.

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