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If you build it, will they come?
If organizers procure grant money to build a community center in Sisters, will
residents support the effort with their patronage of events and services
offered at the site?
That's one of the questions the Sisters Community Center Planning Committee
addressed in a meeting at Saturday at the Best Western Ponderosa Inn.
The group, which includes members of the Sisters Kiwanis and Rotary clubs and
other community leaders, met for six hours on Saturday to discuss area needs
and review the results of a planning questionnaire circulated late last year.
About 25 people attended the meeting.
Organizers have suggested that a community center could house youth and day
care facilities, a meal site for seniors, and offices for the Central Oregon
Community Action Agency Network and the Sisters Organization for Activity and
Recreation. The center could also be used for community meetings and social
functions, as a shelter for domestic violence victims, and as a meeting place
for support groups.
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But if Saturday's meeting proved anything, it was that there's no fast-track to
consensus on the matter. Discussion raised as many questions as it answered,
organizers say.
"We had a lot of quality participation and challenging thinking," said Carole
"C.B." Davis, one of center's supporters. "It was very eye-opening. Toward the
end, I began challenging my own perception of what was needed. To me that means
we need to dig deeper."
Among the unanswered questions was the depth of grassroots support for
individual events and services that might be housed in the center.
"We tried to play devil's advocate and ask 'How could these things be addressed
without a community center?'" said Kiwanis President Lorri Craig. "We came up
with alternatives for each of the concerns. They weren't optimum alternatives,
but they were stop-gap measures that would work for a year or two."
With approximately 10,000 residents in the Sisters area and more expected in
the years to come, Craig said she was still convinced of a long-range need for
a community center. The idea also has the endorsement of the Sisters City
Council.
Respondents to the planning questionnaire indicated that a community meeting
place, a teen center and an office for SOAR were the three highest-ranking
concerns, but organizers emphasized that the survey represented only a small
sampling of Sisters area residents.
About two-thirds of the questionnaires handed out were returned and many
represented the opinion of groups rather than individuals. The total sampling
numbered only 58.
"I think what they're finding is that they have to take it right to the streets
and ask the average person what they really need," said Rob Luck, a expert in
social work who is donating his time to the project. "Instead of planning a
senior center or a teen center, I think they'll be asking seniors and youth
what they want and need."
Future financing of the center also raised concerns. While a block grant of up
to $600,000 from Deschutes County may be available for the Sisters project, an
important consideration is whether the facility would be self-sustaining after
it opened.
Organizers could apply for the grant as early as next January, but want to be
well prepared for the task.
"They don't want to make the mistake of a money chase for grant dollars without
knowing that the money is needed and will be put to good use," Luck said. "I
think it's been a very healthy process. I've been impressed with the level of
participation."
