ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Steps are being taken to add a 6,700-square -foot arts building in Orange Beach, a facility that was initially considered in Gulf Shores.

A resolution of support and designation of site for Beach CITE Studios will be presented at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

Beach CITE Studios, Inc. was formed in October 2008, by three local residents of Gulf Shores. In February 2009, the organization received a substantial unrestricted donation from the Camille Schroeder Charitable Foundation to construct the facility, as well as have startup operating funds to offer artistic opportunities for the community.

CITE stands for “Community Interactive Teaching Experience.”

If constructed, the building would include facilities for arts learning including dance, music, painting, sculpture and creative writing. Private studios will be available for individual lessons, along with larger classroom areas for group instruction.

“What we are doing right now is deciding if we want to have this building,” said Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon. “This building will be donated to the city,with absolutely no cost to the city. It will be funded for two years by the donor, again at no cost to the city. If

for any reason there is some type of situation where it does not work

out, the building would become the property of the city.”

The site being proposed for the facility would be along Canal Road,

adjacent to Water Front Park in front of where the current arts facility now sits.

City Administrator Ken Grimes said there are still many hurdles to cross before this project becomes a reality.

“First the resolution of support has to be passed by the council, but then we have to work out various issues such as all of the conceptual issues, the operational plan, how it functions with the city, what happens if is doesn’t work, not to mention all that goes on with building a building,” Grimes said. “But we are positive that the city can work with this entity to come up with a win-win situation for everyone.”

What happened in

Gulf Shores?

For several months, talks have been ongoing with staff in Gulf Shores to put the building near the Erie Meyer Civic Center and South Baldwin Community Theater. But according to Jim Coughlin, executive director of Beach CITE Studios, it became apparent over time that Gulf Shores wasn’t a good fit for the facility.

“In Gulf Shores, I think it just came down to both of us having a different vision,” Coughlin said. “We have nothing but good things to say about the folks that we interacted with in Gulf Shores, but at the end of the day, I believe that both parties just didn’t feel it was going to be a good fit.”

Since Gulf Shores does not have an existing art center and Orange Beach does, questions have been asked as to why the facility was not proposed in Orange Beach initially. Coughlin said the individuals who formed Beach CITE Studios are all residents of Gulf Shores.

“It was a similar situation in that we were seeking to lease a piece of city property in which to build the facility, but as we went through the discussions and the city staff review, it just became apparent to us that we were seeing this project from a different perspective,” Coughlin said.

Andy Bauer, director of Planning and Zoning for Gulf Shores said the sticking point was an issue over the type of pavement that would be used at the facility.

“City staff asked Beach CITE Studios from the beginning to look at using pervious parking, and we knew that it might be more costly than typical parking, but this is a direction in which the city wants to go,” Bauer said. “It is more environmentally friendly and we thought, since it was city property, that we should lead by example.”

Bauer said the staff presented it to Beach CITE and when estimates came back the cost was more expensive.

“The staff worked to provide some concessions to them to offset the extra expenditures involved with the pervious parking,” Bauer said.

Bauer said Beach CITE Studios told Gulf Shores they would take the information and analyze it, and that was the end of the negotiations.

Coughlin said Beach CITE Studios is very impressed with what Orange Beach already has to offer and with the work that has been done thanks to the “Friends of the Arts.”

“We hope that we can bring a facility that will help expand what is already being done and to help teach the arts in a variety of ways,” he said.

Residents

speak loudly

Councilwoman Pattisue Carranza suggested making two resolutions; one supporting the facility, but another offering an alternative site behind the Adult Activity Center.

“It being a city owned property, and potentially a city owned building, I would like to get input from everybody in Orange Beach on the two potential sites,” Carranza said. “They came to us a month ago when things fell through in Gulf Shores, and I don’t want us to be pushed and told this is the only place it can be placed.”

Carranza was basically alone in her view as the mayor, other council members and members of the public expressed that the proposed site was the best.

“The money that would be needed to prepare a foundation would be $200- to $300,000 just to prepare the site,” Kennon said of Carranza’s proposal. “We don’t have that kind of money. If we do that, then we have a gallery and a hot shop on one piece of property, an art education center on another piece of property, and not even an easement to get between the two properties, so to me the logic just doesn’t make sense.”

Numerous members of the public spoke up, agreeing with Kennon.

“Our kids need to grow up in a different atmosphere and have things that we didn’t have,” Councilman Ed Carroll said. “It is much better to have our kids in an art center learning art then out in the street getting in trouble. They have come in here and offered us something that we couldn’t afford to build right now and our kids can’t afford to wait three or four years to get it.”

“After looking at the site and going all over the city looking at various sites, I do believe that this is the best place for this art center,” Councilwoman Joni Blalock said. “I’d like to keep this as one resolution so that we can get things done right away.”