Leavenworth seeks members for Community Center, Gateway Art Committees

LEAVENWORTH — The City of Leavenworth is accepting letters of interest for positions on two new steering committees that will help guide development of the Upper Valley Community Center and a public art project at the Highway 2 and Icicle Road roundabout.

Applications are due by 4 p.m. Sept. 30. City staff and council members will review applicants and make appointments to both committees. Meeting schedules have not yet been established.

The Upper Valley Community Center Steering Committee will advise city staff, the Leavenworth City Council and the Upper Valley Parks and Recreation Service Area Board on the community center project. Its responsibilities include guiding the project's scope and design, coordinating with stakeholders, participating in community outreach and fundraising and helping prioritize project elements. Final decision-making authority remains with the City Council.

The committee is expected to include two council members, with one serving as chair, along with the city's recreation and tourism manager as a nonvoting project manager and a Chelan PUD resilience consultant as a nonvoting member.

Other positions are designated for two aquatic center stakeholders, two library stakeholders, a Leavenworth resident, an Upper Valley resident, a Peshastin resident and two at-large stakeholders or residents.

Members will be appointed for the duration of the project unless they resign, are removed by a majority vote of committee members or are otherwise unable to continue. Applicants should be prepared for a multiyear commitment.

Selection criteria include experience with community-based or planning projects or capital project delivery, an interest in the community center project informed by a balanced community perspective and reasonable assurance that an applicant does not have a financial interest related to development or use of the property.

The Gateway Art Project Steering Committee will assist the city with developing, selecting, procuring and installing permanent public artwork in the roundabout at Highway 2 and Icicle Road.

The committee will help establish design and artist eligibility criteria, develop a request for qualifications, review submissions and select three to four finalists. It also will organize finalist site visits and presentations, coordinate public input and recommend a final commission to the City Council.

The committee can select finalists, award finalist stipends within the approved budget and conduct public input without additional council approval. The City Council must approve the final artwork commission and contract, post-contract design modifications, changes affecting the total contract amount and agreements with other agencies, including the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The city has approved a $150,000 budget for the Gateway Art Project.

The art committee is expected to include two council members, including the chair, the recreation and tourism manager as nonvoting project manager and a city staff engineer as a nonvoting adviser. Voting positions also include a Leavenworth Design Review Board member, two representatives of the local arts community, a Chamber of Commerce representative, an outdoor recreation or environmental representative and four community members at large.

The city anticipates the art project process will take about a year. Applicants should have an interest in the project informed by a balanced community perspective, relevant experience with municipal or community-based art projects or cultural assets and no financial interest related to the project's development.

Letters of interest should identify which steering committee the applicant wants to serve on and may be submitted by email, mail or in person to City Clerk Andrea Fischer at Leavenworth City Hall, 700 Highway 2, or PO Box 287, Leavenworth, WA 98826. Applications also may be emailed to afischer@cityofleavenworth.com.