The City of Williamston is putting $2,350 into a data mining effort to see if the city can support a history-themed cultural center.
The idea was presented by a Williamston resident and teacher, and it’s based off of a project that was done in Tamarack, West Virginia. The Tamarack project includes a 59,000 square foot facility that includes crafts, working art studios for resident artists, a theater, a fine art gallery and an additional 22,500 square foot meeting space.
“This just provides a starting point for doing the research to see, 'How does a community go about putting something like this together?'” says Michelle Aniol, community development director for the City of Williamston.
The initial data mining will include phone surveys and written interviews with people across the country who have done similar projects. Once the interviews are finished, a report will be complied and given to City Council.
“We need to see if this is appropriate for our area and if it is, how do we get it done? Who is going to do it and where is the money going to come from?” she says.
The City Council should see the data by the end of the spring.
Source: Michelle Aniol, City of Williamston
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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