ISLESFORD
NEIGHBORHOOD
HOUSE
|
|
|
ISLESFORD NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE |
 |
||
|
ANNOUNCEMENTS HISTORY / INFO |
||
| |
||
|
Background Background: The INHA Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring that the Neighborhood House (INH) remains a vital community resource, and over the years, to meet that goal, various improvements have been made to the building and grounds. However, while the existing building does a pretty good job of serving the community, recently we’ve heard from island residents that it could do better. In response, we voted in fall of 2007 to form a Building Subcommittee to explore what additional improvements might be made. One of the most consistent suggestions from residents has been to make the building a year-round facility, so the subcommittee started there and worked through the winter and spring of 2008 to solicit further input from the community. After numerous conversations with neighbors, a community “visioning” was organized in August 2008 to share ideas and begin creating a plan for the building. The process generated many ideas of how the INH might better meet the needs of the island, forming the foundation of a community vision for a transformed Neighborhood House. The vision was expansive. Beyond simply seeing a year-round space, the community saw a main hall big enough to accommodate our otherwise crowded potluck suppers, wide enough for community dances and high enough for winter basketball. Folks saw a larger and better-equipped kitchen, a refurbished entryway and common room, a greater capacity to host cultural events, and the potential for energy efficiency and generation. The INHA board was excited by all of the ideas, the subcommittee was expanded and the latest INH building improvement project was underway. The Plan: Some of the changes proposed are winterizing the building, improving the septic system, making the INH more handicap accessible, expanding the kitchen, enlarging the main hall, refurbishing the Ladies’ Parlor and entryway, improving the restroom, renovating the Library and historical room, establishing space for an island health clinic and increasing the capacity of the building to be used as an emergency shelter. Additionally, the building subcommittee is exploring the possibility of expanding the second floor to include a workout room, office space and an upstairs bathroom. Because we have a deep respect for all that the existing building is and all that community members have done to make it so, our goal is to preserve what we love about the building while refurbishing it in a manner that will truly serve the community for another 100 years. The Visioning: On August 20th, 2008 a group of islanders, summer and year-round, old and young, native and transplant, gathered in the main hall to talk about the Islesford Neighborhood House and how it might be improved. Though most came with strong feelings about the building and what should or should not happen to it, all remained open minded and participated fully in the visioning process. Looking forward five years into the future, we began with a list of questions about what the Neighborhood House of 2013 might be like. Armed with Sharpies and Post-its, as the questions were read we scribbled down whatever answers came to mind, one per Post-it. There were no restrictions, answers could be fully articulated thoughts or single words, and we did this for fifteen minutes (although we could have gone on and on). When it was time to stop writing, we took the Post-its, over 300 of them, and stuck them to the walls working as a group to put them into “clusters” of similar ideas. Next, we took each cluster and distilled the individual ideas into one overarching statement. Finally, we voted on those “cluster statements” that best reflected our desires for the Neighborhood House, creating a prioritized list. The top cluster read, “In 2013, the Neighborhood House will be the recreational and cultural center, with dance classes, art classes, cooking classes, low impact exercise, yoga, plays, bright lights, ballroom dancing, activities, games, sports equipment for community members to use for game nights, bingo, 2-on-2 basketball games when the school court is frozen over and after school opportunities for kids.” For a complete list of all the cluster statements and individual Post-its, click here. Building Subcommittee: INHA Trustees Luke Abell, Cory Duggan, Bill McGuinness and Amanda Ravenhill, and community members Ann Fernald, Barb Fernald, Cynthia and Dan Lief, Denise McCormick, Sonja Moser, Caroline Sholl, Hugh Smallwood, Joy Sprague and Cindy Thomas
|
||
| |
||
