Harrington news

HHPC

The Harrington Historic Preservation group met August 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the cool of the beautiful Harrington City Park with Karen Allen, Celeste Miller, Lindsey Harder, Anita Harmon, Aileen Sweet and Margie Hall present. The sole purpose of the meeting was to review the draft from the community planning and design consultants at Studio Cascade, make corrections and return it to them with the expectation of a final draft to be received on August 10. The final draft will then be placed in a packet for the city council to review. At the Council’s following meeting there will be a public meeting to accept or reject the 2000 Plus Update as provided by Chaz Bates.

As will be recalled, Studio Cascade, represented by William Grimes and Chaz Bates, was awarded by HHPC the contract for the $10,000 County Commissioners’ grant to update the 2000 Plus Harrington Revitalization Plan, with the primary purpose to develop and cultivate business interest for the town. They prepared a contract for the city council to approve and sign, but at the March 2014 Council meeting, the lack of specifics in the contract delayed its execution. Ideas promoted included “link aspirations for development into concrete implemented actions, provide direction for the community on how to move into the future, and engage the public through community meetings to aid in shaping the specifics of the updated plan for revitalization. The recommendations will clearly identify the what, who, how, and when of work elements to ensure progress continues.” In May 2014, Bates came to Harrington and met with five individuals to “collect ideas from the citizenry on what they would like to see happen in Harrington. A community-wide meeting was held in October 2014 with a slide presentation of the historic buildings and a street walk to become familiar with the appearance and location of the structures.

This rough draft from Studio Cascade has been traveling between the HHPC and Bates since the January 2015 HHPC meeting. The final product is expected to contain the clear specifics that members of the community can execute to stimulate growth in the community.

HOHS

The August meeting of the Harrington Opera House Society was opened by President Mark Stedman August 3 with Linda Wagner, Sheryl Stedman, Ed and Bunny Haugan, Billie and Gordon Herron, Carol, Mike and Bonnie Hardy, Dillon Haas, Steven and Becky Hardy, Karen Robertson, Michelle Quigley and Marge Womach present. Minutes from the July meeting were read and approved, the main topic being upcoming events and the eventual purchase of a grand piano.

The building committee is continuing to look at the proscenium restoration for the overhead of the opera house stage, and bids had been received; however, this project may be delayed for a year. It was decided to have the executive board appoint a chairperson for a proscenium committee. The long-awaited elevator project is moving forward. Gordon Herron said that they want to begin receiving bids in six weeks as the funding should be available in September. He explained that the state budget money is not a grant but is money that would be paid direct to those doing the work. No official announcement of the receipt of the confirmation was made at the meeting. The electrical and plumbing project to update the kitchen area of the auditorium and to install a second-floor restroom is essentially finished except for the sheet rock and installation of the plumbing parts. This project may not be completed before the August 29 Nu-Blu performance of blue-grass music. That same date will be the Dog Wash sponsored by HOHS and will receive supplemental help from a new business owner, Kristi Poteet, grooming and pet boarding at “Me Too!” who will donate her time and skills for the event. Since the last performance, the major changes that have occurred are the stage and auditorium floors refinished, the window woodwork refurbished, and black-out shades for the auditorium and art room installed.

A piano committee was formed in accordance with the by-laws at a special executive board meeting last month in which Billie Herron was appointed as chairperson, and is to enlist others for the committee. This Piano Committee is “to coordinate the fundraising efforts for and acquisition of a 7-1 Boston piano, built by Steinway, from the Steinway Gallery of Spokane.”

Coming events include the September 22 performance by Needham Gospel, the September 25 performance of the Spokane Magic Club, a rummage sale September 26 and music-art by Scott Kirby with videos on October 16. The next HOHS meeting will be on September 8 at 7 p.m. in the Art Room. An article about Harrington will appear in the Inlander on August 9.