The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2020_May issue_Villager newspaper | Page 5

THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER 5 May 2020 NEW CHARBONNEAU ACTIVITY CENTER PLANS TAKING SHAPE By ANNE SHEVLIN T he Village Center Task Force continues to hold vir- tual meetings and is com- ing close to the time when they can share building plans with the community. Chaired by Kathy Fuller and Anne Shevlin, this dedi- cated group of Charbonneau resi- dents and building professionals has worked diligently since October. They have reviewed numerous ideas from community surveys and writ- ten feedback, met monthly, and of- ten twice a month, with the architect and the construction management team. Conceptual floor plans have been drawn up, discussed, reviewed and re- vised for many months. The most re- cent set of plans were approved by the task force at their March 20 meeting. The next step is to advance to the schematic design phase, which will in- clude exterior elevations. From there, the construction management team will seek cost estimates to aid in the preparation of an anchor budget. The task force has worked through a variety of options and plans for the building. Over many months and the evolution of many good concepts and ideas, the task force came to the real- ization that developing a set of plan options that reflected a “good-better- best” approach to the new building was not practical. The smallest (“good”) and least expensive set of plans did not allow for enough square footage for the many groups, activities and meeting space needed for our ac- tive Charbonneau community. Con- versely, a large building (“best”), in- tended to accommodate some sort of restaurant service, along with an in- door sports court, would be principally impractical, the square footage too large, and would place the project sig- nificantly over budget. Many residents may recall that when the “old restaurant building” was ready to be torn down, community surveys reflected that the number one u a e n n o b r a h C w o h S r a C COURTESY PHOTO The Village Center Task Force continues to hold virtual meetings and is coming close to the time when they can share building plans with the community. request was to build a new restaurant in its place. As the task force worked through plans over the past months, it became apparent that it was not feasi- ble nor practical to construct a restau- rant in the new building. From this progression of ideas came the concept of designating the current clubhouse building as an “event center,” making minor revisions to the existing kitch- en, and remodeling some of the cur- rent space to develop a restaurant with table service, along with take-out, or grab-and-go meals and snacks. The task force has engaged in conversation with members of the Charbonneau Golf Club to further develop this idea. Mike Brennan, Charbonneau resident and task force member, has drawn up plans for a remodel of the clubhouse that fits the catering needs of the ma- ny social groups and clubs in Charbon- neau, along with weddings and other events scheduled through the Golf Course. Another big request that the task force has been grappling with is the idea of putting an indoor pickleball court in the new building. Pickleball is an emerging racquet sport that is growing in popularity, especially in See ACTIVITY CENTER / Page 6 Hot Charbonneau Nights will be held at the Country Club on August 21, 2020. If you or another Charbonneau resident has a pre-1975 car and would like to show your car please contact Lindy Anderson at [email protected].