Cool Cities committee recommends Radka building as cultural center

The Cool Cities Initiative is working to bring a cultural center to downtown Rogers City. The group will have help from a committee formed Monday by the Rogers City Council to bring the idea to fruition. The proposed site is the long-vacant Radka “window” building on Third Street, currently hosting an exhibit of local artists and writers. Rogers City businessman Jeff Hopp, along with Anne Belanger of the Presque Isle District Library, presented a Cool Cities report to the Rogers City Council Monday morning.

They said the Radka building is ideal for a cultural center for a number of reasons. Hopp said he also had tours of the former Daugherty Furniture building on Third Street and the former B’s Sav-More grocery store on the corner of Third Street and Larke Avenue, but thought the Radke building would work best. “I need your help,” Hopp told the council. “We have identified a project worth pursuing. Now we are asking what you can do to help us.” He said the location could be a focal point for the downtown, because there is an established traffic pattern established, and there is adequate parking nearby.

“There is a tremendous amount of support from the school system for the project. They were very, very encouraging,” he said, noting that he conducted a survey of the local schools to assess needs. Beyond the initial idea, there are some questions regarding financing and maintenance. The building would have to be purchased and brought up to code in certain areas, Hopp said. Hopp admitted what comes next, after the idea to establish a cultural center, is beyond his expertise and that is why he came to the council for assistance. The project comes down to money and the desire of the public to support it.

MAYOR BEACH Hall said the council, which appointed Hopp and Belanger to the Cool Cities committee, is supportive of their efforts. “I think I can speak for the council and say that we are supportive, but I can’t speak for the CDA. Do we know where to go to get money? I don’t know,” Hall said. Councilman Gary Nowak suggested the council appoint another committee to look at purchasing the building, estimating renovation costs, and securing funding. A possible source of funding could be a grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts. Belanger said that group is tied in with the Cool Cities Initiative and th

ey have a deadline for grant requests coming up May 1. Councilman Karl Heidemann, who helped organize a successful drive to construct the band shell six years ago, said grass roots support is critical to making a project like a band shell or a community center come to life. “By getting the community, businesses, and individuals involved, we showed that we were serious about it,” he said. Getting that support helped in obtaining grants, he said. “It doesn’t happen from the city. It happens from individuals.” With that, the council voted to establish a committee to pursue the project.

EARLIER IN THE meeting, city manager John Bruning reported that the purchase of the Sports Park property had been completed. The city had been negotiating to acquire the former railroad easement property, which covered a portion of right field. At the March 7 meeting, council approved a motion to purchase the property from Casey A. and Kimberly L. Orr at a price of $13,000 plus $1,300 to reimburse the sellers for a survey done on the property in November.