Luverne Street Music sets sights on Carnegie; plans call for sharing space

The Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County (CAHRC) recently terminated its lease for the Carnegie Cultural Center in Luverne, and a new fine arts group is interested in using the space.
Officers of the non-profit Luverne Street Music attended the City Council meeting Tuesday, Nov. 16, to present plans for how they'd utilize the building, which is owned by the city of Luverne.
President LaDonna Iveland and Vice President Janine Papik shared their "vision" for how the former 1902 Carnegie Library would become home to Luverne Street Music, which connects instructors to students in a variety of voice, piano and musical instruments.
"We couldn't see a better way to continue the cultural use of the building," Papik said.
They said the program has grown from 30 students and four teachers in 2013 to 100 students and 16 teachers today.
The curriculum includes summer music camp, a children's choir and a chamber orchestra, with a puppet theater camp and preschool string program on the horizon.
"We're bringing people into town," Iveland said about the instructors, "and more importantly, we're providing an opportunity for students to take lessons locally instead of going out of town."
Papik said the program is also organizing a community band for Luverne's 150th anniversary celebration in 2017.
Luverne Street Music had been using recently renovated rehearsal rooms at Hilger Commons, the round building west of Trinity Episcopal Church.
With the growth of students and instructors, Papik and Iveland said the program needs a larger, more permanent space.
They said renovations would preserve the historic nature of the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
For example, some of the open spaces on the main floor would be divided into classrooms, but they would be constructed with soundproof glass walls, allowing the natural light of the arched windows to shine through.
One of the open spaces would be renovated into two classrooms, but the fireside room will remain open.
The basement rooms would also be renovated and soundproofed, and a limited access elevator would be part of the plans.
Papik said she's aware of concern in the community that the Carnegie's architectural integrity would be in jeopardy, but Papik said no one is more concerned about that than they are.
"We wouldn't think of axing the building," she said. "It's an architectural gem, and I would want that to show through, not cover it. We'd enhance it."
Councilwoman Esther Frakes asked how often the rooms would be in use, and what times of day.
The women said lessons are offered seven days a week, but the hours of 3 to 7 p.m. are the busiest.
Frakes also asked if it would be possible for other fine arts groups to share the Carnegie space for art displays, similar to the building’s current use.
Iveland said Luverne Street Music has been open to sharing the Carnegie since the program first started considering it.
"We want it to be open for all public use — the sky's the limit," she said, specifically referencing a collection of Luverne artist Mary Renfro's paintings that are currently housed in a closet. 
"Why not display them on the walls of Luverne Street Music to enjoy?" Papik said.
Lynn Lopau attended the City Council to speak on behalf of CAHRC.
"The artists felt like a rug was jerked out from under them," she said, explaining that the issue came to the CAHRC as a surprise vote. "Where are the fine arts going to go?"
At a CAHRC board meeting earlier this year, the group agreed to terminate the lease, based on decreasing artists' needs for the building and decreasing public attendance at displays.
Funding to staff the front desk at the Carnegie was cut earlier this year, adding to the CAHRC board's difficulties in keeping up with and publicizing displays.
Frakes said that the city, as owner and caretaker of the Carnegie, needs to make sure the process is fair to other potential uses, especially if the city takes on additional expenses of renovation and adding an elevator.
"We embrace the idea of sharing the building," Iveland said. "We wanted that from the very beginning. It's what we were already doing at Hilger Commons. There's a bad misperception out there about what we're trying to do."
Papik said, "It's not a contest. We all have to be winners."
According to CAHRC's current lease agreement, the art group pays $900 per year to the city, which pays for maintenance and upkeep of the historic building. That amounted to more than $30,000 in the past two years.
Iveland said Luverne Street Music would be capable of paying $300 per month, or $3,600 per year, according to its current budget.