{"id":6064,"date":"2011-04-11T11:02:40","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T17:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boulderblueline.org\/?p=6064"},"modified":"2011-05-07T17:55:33","modified_gmt":"2011-05-07T23:55:33","slug":"what-do-we-want-chautauqua-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boulderblueline.org\/?p=6064","title":{"rendered":"What Do We Want Chautauqua to Be?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Picnic Shelter -- site of proposed new building. From GoColorado.com (http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/3lozs4g)<\/p><\/div>\n

As part of an ambitious, ten-year master plan, Chautauqua is proposing a new, 7,400 square foot building in back of the auditorium and an effort to promote more September-May and mid-week conferences and retreats. But critics question whether this proposal will generate more traffic and parking problems and negatively change the character of the venerable and beloved institution.<\/p>\n

At a PLAN-Boulder forum on April 8, Susan Connelly, the executive director of the Colorado Chautauqua Association, presented the principal features of Chautauqua\u2019s 2020 Plan, which she estimated would cost $10 million to implement. The most controversial aspect of the plan is the relocation of the picnic shelter from south to north of the auditorium and the construction in its place of a new building to be called Arbor House. It would contain restrooms for auditorium patrons and space for administrative and maintenance operations on the 3,700 square foot first floor, and restrooms, a commercial kitchen and meeting space on the 3,700 square foot second floor. Due to the slope of the site, about half of the first floor would be situated underground. Connelly said that Wolff-Lyon Architects has been engaged to design the new building, and that its appearance would be compatible with the other structures at Chautauqua.<\/p>\n

Connelly characterized Chautauqua\u2019s financial future as \u201cstable,\u201d but she also observed that the cost of maintaining and improving the grounds continues to rise. She said that the Association\u2019s annual budget is about $3 million and that about $1 million of that is spent on the grounds. She noted that the Association owns 60 of the 99 cottages at the facility, and that rentals of them drop off substantially from September to May and also during mid-week. She indicated that the meeting space at Arbor House is intended to draw more people to Chautauqua to rent the cottages during the off-season, particularly mid-week of the off-season.<\/p>\n

The other major elements of 2020 Plan are:<\/p>\n