Traverse City News and Events

Parks Partnerships Proposed

By Beth Milligan | June 20, 2018

Proposed community partnerships could bring new activity to three Grand Traverse County parks after Parks and Recreation commissioners unanimously supported pursuing the three proposals, including bringing professional outdoor theater to the Grand Traverse County Civic Center, rugby to Twin Lakes Park, and a rowing program to Medalie Park.

Parallel 45 At Civic Center
A new partnership between Traverse City-based professional theater company Parallel 45 and the Parks and Recreation Commission will bring an outdoor summer play repertory to the Civic Center’s amphitheater in 2019 – as well as provide professional staging, light, and sound that can be used by other community groups at the park.

Parks and Recreation commissioners unanimously supported a proposal by the nonprofit theater group to use the amphitheater for an eight-week summer season starting in 2019. Parallel 45 – which brings in local, national, and international actors to mount “cutting-edge interpretations of modern plays,” according to the group – has been looking for a new venue since 2016, when former home the InsideOut Gallery closed its doors in the Warehouse District. Parallel 45 is offering to invest in a professional-grade saddlespan tent that will cover the entire Civic Center amphitheater, along with lighting, sound, and other infrastructure for the venue.

A proposed sample schedule shows three productions being mounted that could rotate daily to provide a mix of performance options and matinee and evening shows each summer. Parallel 45 estimates each performance could accommodate up to 150 attendees, conservatively serving over 3,000 patrons in a season. Shows would end by 10pm at the latest in accordance with the city’s noise ordinance. “What we’re most excited about is that this allows us to really create a venue that would be a flagship for Traverse City and for arts and culture in this community,” said Parallel 45 Executive Director Erin Anderson Whiting. “To have a professional theater operating in a beautiful public park is something I think is really exciting for the community.”

Under the proposed terms of the agreement, Parallel 45 would pay $8,000 over the next three years to rent the amphitheater. The nonprofit has agreed to erect its production equipment as soon as the weather permits each year – likely May – and leave it up through the fall. While Parallel 45 would have exclusive use of the venue during its eight-week rehearsal and show period in the heart of summer, other community groups could rent the venue and use the equipment before and after the theater season – providing an income stream to Parks and Recreation. Parallel 45 would receive 25 percent of the proceeds from such rentals, while Parks and Recreation would receive 75 percent. A nearby facility building would provide space for dressing/changing rooms and restrooms for actors; the group also plans to explore installing temporary public bathrooms at the site.

Parks and Recreation and Parallel 45 are also negotiating additional contract terms that would include overnight security for the amphitheater throughout the production season, storage of equipment in a county-owned building during winter months, and a county commitment to upgrade the amphitheater to make it ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. County Parks and Recreation Director Kristine Erickson told commissioners she was confident the county could secure grant funding to cover its costs for the project – a condition commissioners attached to their approval of the project.

Commissioners expressed their enthusiasm for potentially bringing new vitality to a little-used section of the Civic Center and offering a new outdoor concert, performance and wedding venue to the community. “I’m overall incredibly excited about utilizing an area that we’ve always dreamed about getting people to,” said Parks and Recreation Commissioner David Grams.

Rugby At Twin Lakes Park
Nonprofit groups Traverse Bay Blues Rugby Club and GTRC are one step closer to their goal of making Twin Lakes Park the new home for their rugby matches after Parks and Recreation commissioners authorized staff to negotiate a proposed contract with the groups that will return to the board for approval at a future meeting.

The groups are proposing to pay to level and flatten the park’s existing field to create a 110-meter by 65-meter rugby field, as well as complete minor excavating services on the southeast corner of the field and back-fill the field’s slopes. The groups organize men’s and women’s, high school boys’ and girls’, and middle school boys’ rugby programs that compete in the USA Rugby Union and would use the field on a recurring basis from spring through fall. Other community recreational groups would also be able to use the upgraded field, though Traverse Bay Blues Rugby Club and GTRC would have scheduling priority. Group representatives noted the partnership would provide Grand Traverse County with park improvements, field rental income, and increased dormitory rentals by visiting teams, referees, and coaches.

Rowing At Medalie Park
A temporary agreement allowing Traverse City Tritons Rowing to set up base at Medalie Park off South Airport Road will turn into a long-term contract after Parks and Recreation commissioners approved the partnership.

The group will provide youth and adult rowing programming from the site for the next three years, building and installing an enclosure to store boat racks and rowing equipment at the park and installing a 12’x64’ floating dock on Boardman Lake for launching rowing shells. According to the proposed contract terms, the group will pay $1,000 per season for non-exclusive use of the park property. Traverse City Tritons Rowing offers middle school recreational and high school competitive rowing in partnership with Traverse City Area Public Schools’ Learning, Enrichment, and Athletics Program (LEAP), according to the group’s website.

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