Ottawa group hopes to give OMA new life

The Ottawa Municipal Auditorium needs new carpet and a new main curtain.

It also could use better accessibility for people with disabilities.

But it’s still important, still useful, still has some life left in it. At least that’s what a group of Ottawa residents say.

The group — made up of city officials, teachers and theater and performing arts lovers — comprises the auditorium’s Blue Ribbon Committee, which was created to help preserve the facility’s future.

“It’s too early to say we don’t need this building,” Robyn Bowman, with Kansas State Bank, told Ottawa City commissioners Monday.

Figuring out how to better utilize the auditorium, which originally was dedicated in 1921, has been on the commission’s to-do list for some time. Recently, the Blue Ribbon Committee toured a similar auditorium in Pittsburg and put together a list of recommendations for OMA.

“We felt that an advisory group should be formed,” Bowman said.

The advisory board would be responsible for setting seven to 10 specific goals to achieve within the next 12 to 24 months, Bowman said.

The Blue Ribbon Committee also suggested surveying facility users to determine frequency and satisfaction of use, as well as recommended improvements to the building.

Some of these improvements could be expensive, but Richard Nienstedt, city manager, said the investment is necessary to revitalize the auditorium.

“We’re going to have to invest some money in the facility,” he said.

The Pittsburg auditorium is larger in size and capacity, but Bowman said it is very similar to OMA.

“It’s interesting because the history of it so closely mirrors ours,” she said.

Historically speaking, Ottawa music and performing arts facilities have been around since the mid-1800s, and Scott Bird, city finance director, said the current building, which received a $680,000 renovation just 30 years ago, is beginning to show its age.

Despite this, Shonda Stitt, OMA administrative manager, said people and organizations still inquire about use of the facility and its 830 seats.

“Price is a big thing here,” Stitt said. “They want it for a reasonable price.”

The commission plans to revisit the topic within the next few weeks to discuss the creation of an advisory board.