to: Mayor and Town Council
from: Council Member Bill Strom, Chairperson
Mayor’s Committee on the Wallace Parking Deck –
Council Member Laurin Easthom; Council Member Matt Czajkowski; and Mayor pro tem Jim Ward
Staff Support: Carlo Robustelli, Mayor’s Aide and Butch Kisiah, Parks and Recreation Director
subject: Report from the Mayor’s Committee on the Wallace Parking Deck
date: September 8, 2008
The purpose of this memorandum is to present a report from the Mayor’s committee on the Wallace Parking Deck and to suggest that the Council initiate discussion on allowing the Kidzu Children’s Museum to build a new museum building on top of the parking structure.
On June 9, 2008, Mayor Foy appointed a Council Committee to investigate the possibility of allowing the Kidzu Children’s Museum to build a new museum on the top of the existing Wallace Parking Deck. Carlo Robustelli, Mayor’s Aide and Butch Kisiah, Parks and Recreation Director have acted as staff support.
On August 1, 2008 the committee received a draft feasibility study from MHA Works, PA [2 MB pdf], in regard to building on the plaza level of the Wallace Parking Facility. The report outlined the feasibility of building a structure on the plaza that would cover part of or all of the 35,000 square foot area. Committee members support exploring the opportunity this could provide for the Kidzu Children’s Museum. The Committee reviewed the report which was also reviewed by Town Staff. Based on the feasibility study, the Committee believes that it is possible to construct a structure and that this could benefit both the Kidzu Children’s Museum and efforts to strengthen the downtown business district. We also believe that particular attention should be paid to accessibility issues in the design of any proposed structure.
Kidzu has requested that the Town provide it a non-binding letter of Intent and Good Faith Agreement stating the Town’s intent to provide the space for Kidzu’s expansion needs. The Manager and Attorney have reviewed a draft letter from Kidzu and have provided the attached draft letter (Attachment 1) as a starting point for these discussions. We suggest the next step could be for the Town Manager and Attorney to continue to work on this matter with representatives of Kidzu and report to the Council with updates as appropriate.
That the Council adopt the attached resolution to authorize the Town Manager to execute a non-binding letter of intent and good faith, consistent with the Committee’s recommendation as contained in this report, stating the Town’s intent to provide the Plaza Level of the Wallace Parking Deck for Kidzu’s expansion needs.
ATTACHMENT