Sup’t. Barrow: ‘Folks, we can do this’; school system would provide part of unused 60-acre site
Picture a public/private world-class performing arts center in Fayette County. That was the idea behind an April 11 meeting of elected and business leaders at the Lafayette Education Center (LEC) where Superintendent Jody Barrow announced that the school system has land for the center and that he has received a commitment for $20 million from private sources.
Barrow began the meeting where several dozen business and elected leaders met at LEC in Fayetteville to give their input on creating a world-class performing arts center in Fayette County.
Perhaps the most significant portion of the morning came at the end of the meeting when Barrow said the Fayette County Board of Education owns a 60-acre site in Fayetteville along Ga. Highway 54 between Veterans Parkway and Tyrone Road and has agreed that a center could be located there.
Following up, Barrow said he has received a private sector commitment from multiple sources for $20 million for what was tentatively expected to be a public/private partnership project.
“Folks, we can do this,” Barrow said. “The question is do we have the courage and political will.”
It was during the preceding hour that attendees broke into groups of 6-8 to offer ideas and suggestions and begin a discussion on having a performing arts center and what would be needed for the project.
Barrow (in photo at right) at the outset said that such a center should serve all age groups throughout the county. He noted the idea of having the center be a result of a public/private partnership.
Barrow suggested that such a center could also attract Broadway plays, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, big-budget movie premiers and a host of other events.
“This could pay huge dividends for our community, including interfacing with the Georgia Film Academy,” Barrow said.
For their part and prior to Barrow’s announcement, groups came up with a wealth of suggestions for a performing arts center. A sampling of those suggestions included a main auditorium to seat 2,000-2,500 people, locating it in an easy access area, a second, smaller stage with multi-purpose rooms, significant parking, an outdoor area though one that would not compete with other local amphitheaters, an educational wing, stunning architecture and a collaborative effort to make the plan work.
Barrow suggested that the effort continue by having one person from each group serve of a focus group whose activities will continue in the near-term. Additional meetings on the topic of an arts center are expected.
As for the public portion of the public/private center, cities or the county may or may not want to include a center on the list of projects for what could be a SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) initiative that has been referenced for the past several months and, if approved, would be on the November ballot.
The school system currently has a one-percent SPLOST with a few more years left before it expires. The current SPLOST did not include funding for a performing arts center.
Though it received little comment at the meeting, the Coweta County School System’s Centre for Visual and Performing Arts in Newnan seats 1,000, has a number of amenities and books local, regional, national and international acts for which the school receives revenue.
Below, the Coweta Centre for Visual and Performing Arts. Photo/Submitted.
