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ELGIN — Grant writing for the renovation of the Elgin Opera House will resume at full speed ahead now that the project has built momentum with its first sizable grant award from the Oregon Department of Energy.

A recent capital committee meeting was held at the city hall Tuesday to discuss the 2010 grant-writing campaign.

In attendance were committee members Mayor John Stover, Cindy Chandler, Evelyn Spikes and Kem Brainerd. Also in attendance were Heidi Peterson and Laura Prado, representatives from PARC Resources of Weston, a project development firm which has been hired by the city to assist in writing grant applications for the renovation of the opera house.

“You’ve already raised 36 percent of the $1,040,000 project budget,” said Community Development Consultant Heidi Peterson.

The awards received to date for the renovation of the historic Elgin Opera House include $250,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Oregon Department of Energy; $10,000 from the Oregon Parks Division; $5,018 from City County Insurance; $7,500 from Cycle Oregon; and $5,000 from the Kinsman Foundation. In addition, local contributions and in-kind donations of $100,000 have brought the total raised by the capital campaign effort to $377,518.

Stover said that the funds from ARRA will pay for work on the doors, windows and repointing the brick, starting in June and finishing 90 days later.

“Ninety percent of the original windows will not have to come out,” he said. “We’ll just replace the wood around them. The old window air conditioners will be taken out and won’t hang out the windows anymore. Storm windows will be put in with wood framing. You won’t even know they are there. If we have any funding left, we’ll insulate the loft because there’s a big draft there.”

The two metal exit doors that clang shut every time a patron of the theater enters or leaves will be replaced with wooden doors that replicate the original 1912 design.

“We’ve got pictures that show what they look like,” said Stover.

This week the brick will be tested, and the color of the mortar will be matched. Before the work begins, the exterior of the building will be carefully pressure washed. A crew of two men will do the repointing, said Stover.

Project Architect Mark Seder of Portland is consulting with the State Historic Preservation Office and is receiving their full cooperation, Stover said. He expects SHPO to sign off on Seder’s plans this week. Seder is also discussing the renovation plans with the Wildhorse Foundation, and they have shown renewed interest in the project.

Peterson explained that often donors will wait to see who has supported the project before they throw their own hat in the ring. Now that the project has received a significant vote of confidence and funding from the state, others will likely follow suit.

“The US Bank told us to resubmit our grant application, so I did,” said Stover.

The US Bank grant application was for $25,000 and would be another boost to the renovation project. In addition to this prospective donor, the city has hopes that Cycle Oregon will also consider the project worthy of a grant award. This coming September, Cycle Oregon will be hosted by Elgin for the second time and have an opportunity to enjoy a fantastic musical production at the ever-improving opera house.

Peterson said that with this kind of momentum, the city is in a perfect position now to proceed with Phase II of the grant-writing process. This phase will include re-submissions to larger corporate donors who ran short of program funds last year. At that time, one donor responded that “Your project is not ready to proceed.” Organizers say that’s not the case anymore.

Since then the project has proceeded and consequently, PARC will reapply to three grant programs: Wildhorse Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation and Meyer Memorial Trust for the maximum grant allowance, totaling $375,000.

“The request amounts,” said Peterson, “are based on the typical grant potential, and we’ll hope for 75 to 80 percent of what we ask.”

Peterson advised the city that it is common for large donors to make project site visits and to meet people in the community to size up the community’s commitment and enthusiasm for the project.

Consequently, the city will continue planning community fundraisers and raise project awareness through various upcoming events. Stover said their current fundraiser, an Eloise Stover Victorian doll house, is on display at Elgin Electric. The funds raised by its sale will benefit the opera house.

Those interested in making a tax-deductible cash donation to the Elgin Opera House renovation project may do so by sending their check to the Elgin City Hall, P.O. Box 128, Elgin 97827.

Written by Trish Yerges, Correspondent February 26, 2010 03:04 pm