Committee Calls For Creative Input.
By Don Fink, Resident Moneta, 24121

     These are exciting times for the Smith Mountain Arts Council.  On Sept. 10, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the proposal to locate a music, arts and community center on county property next to the Moneta Public Library on Highway 122.  The approval clears the way for SMAC to work with the Smith Mountain Lake Association, the SML Chamber of Commerce Partnership and other lake area organizations to get the center designed and raise money for its construction.
     For the present, the project has been designated “The Moneta Arts, Education and Community Center” to reflect its all inclusive nature.  It will be designed to serve the needs of all citizens from Bedford City to the lake region and on into Franklin County.  An ad hoc committee representing lake organizations has been meeting with a similar ad hoc committee of Bedford County officials to work out the details of the basic agreement.
Now that the county has given the green light to the project, the initiative will shift to the lake ad hoc committee to organize the nonprofit foundation which will coordinate the design, oversee construction, manage operation and handle maintenance of the center.
     Articles of incorporation for this 501 (c) 3 organization have been drafted and are being reviewed by legal counsel.  Initial contacts also are being made with prospective board members who will manage the foundation’s affairs.  Preliminary discussions also have been held with architectural firms interested in taking on the project, which will begin by assessing the greater community’s needs as a prelude to designing the center.  Once the foundation board has been formed, the board and its executive committee will review the proposals from the architectural companies and select one to undertake the project.
     At this stage, public briefings, workshops and focus group meetings will be organized to assess the needs of as many organizations throughout the region as possible.  Before the design process is started, the selected architect will ask potential users of the center to tell them what they would like to have included in the facility.  This will be a critical phase, since it will give the public an opportunity to say what should be designed into the building.
     The plan is to design a single building of 20,000 and 25,000 square feet that will contain a multipurpose auditorium seating at least 600 persons, a 450-500 seat “acoustically tuned” music hall and an open lobby area  between them which can be used for art displays and exhibitions.  Smaller arts and crafts and community meeting rooms also will be included with the intent of providing a home for the many special interest groups throughout this area. Special emphasis also will be put on providing facilities for educational programs to serve the area’s public schools.
     It will be critically important for all residents of the areas to be served by the center to join in these public “needs assessment” meetings.  This is going to be your arts, education and community center.  The intent is to design it to suit your needs.   The sponsoring organizations for the project need your input to ensure the final facility includes what the community wants.  I urge you all to join in this community project.  For further information, phone 721-2904 or contact me by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Let us hear from you!