I was one of the persons who asked questions of candidates for the Kansas Legislature at a forum Wednesday night Oct. 17 at Kansas City, Kansas, Community College.
Before the three-hour session started, I recalled the community effort that brought about the Performing Arts Center where the forum was held.
It was the mid-1970s when the Community College Board of Trustees and its administration decided to build the theater. I headed up a voluntary community committee that advised the college on how to build the theater.
One of the primary aims of this committee was suggesting to the college trustees how to build the theater so it had maximum use for college students and the general community.
The committee included Ron Mears and Harlan Burns, both trustees; Alton Davies, who was academic dean at the college and later became president; John Kindred of the college’s audio-visual department; and Ray Meyn, the college’s architect. The college chartered a turbo-prop airplane based at the Municipal Airport in Kansas City, Mo.; the committee visited four colleges across Kansas all in a day.
Our first stop was McPherson College, a school affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. Paul Jewell, a long-time professor at Kansas City, Kansas, Community College, was also the chairman of the board of trustees at McPherson College and help arrange our visit in this Central Kansas town
Our next stop was Colby Community College in the northwest part of the state. Then we headed southwest to Dodge City Community College. Our last stop was in southeast Kansas at Coffeyville Community College.
Meyn made sketches at each of stops. The personnel at each of the colleges were very cordial and told us of the strengths and weaknesses of their theaters. This trip was very valuable as we noted the best aspects of the various locations. Meyn was able to incorporate those good things as he drew plans for the theater here.
The size of the theater here was something the voluntary committee discussed extensively. There were those who wanted a theater with up to 1,500 seats. The argument was that you needed that many seats to attract “name” performers and have a reasonable ticket price.
Others on the committee, who also checked with community colleges across the country, said a smaller theater with about 400 seats was the ideal size and would yield the most use. The committee, although not unanimous, settled on 364 seats.
The theater was built without a bond issue. Conservative and responsible management at the college provided enough money from existing capital funds. However, there wasn’t enough money for seating.
The advisory committee went to work, soliciting individuals and businesses. A plaque still hangs in the lobby of the theater listing the “patrons” who contributed to the seat fund.
I have lost count of how many candidate forums I have participated in at the theater– probably more than 30. Most, if not all, have been televised on the college’s cable channel. The Chamber of Commerce, along with various neighborhood business associations including Business West, has sponsored more recent forums.
I was pleased to have served on the voluntary committee in building the theater. The theater continues to serve the community very well.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.