Purple Ribbon Committee embarks on its last phase in January

With a new chairman now in place, the city of Sarasota’s Purple Ribbon Committee is embarking on a new phase of its work to recommend a repurposing of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. 

At its Dec. 5 meeting, the committee elected Charles Cosler to replace Lee-En Chung, who announced at its prior meeting on Nov. 25 her intention to resign in order to address family matters raised by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. It was damage left in the wake of Hurricane Milton, ironically, that has also expanded the committee’s thoughts to include the reality that the Van Wezel in its current form lies in the path of future flood events.

Since the committee began its work, whether the Van Wezel might suffer flood damage shifted to how often it may happen as Hurricane Milton storm surge pushed Sarasota Bay into the building, inundating much of the basement level, orchestra pit, kitchen and the Grand Foyer. This while the committee is awaiting the Karins Engineering report on the overall health of the building.

“Since we started, facts have changed. I don't think any of us thought the Van Wezel would be shut down and lose shows in the fall, and I certainly agree that Van Wezel has to maintain itself as a performing arts center and not shut down,” said committee member David Rovine. “This is where the Karins report falls short if the only mission is a perspective from an engineering point of view how this building can exist for the next 30, 40, 50 years — whatever the long-term solution is — because we're dealing with a potential short-term situation.”

Photo by Andrew Warfield

That situation is how much should be invested in the Van Wezel now if it is to serve its current purpose until its replacement, how to protect it in the interim and how much investment should be made only to have it wasted by future adaptive re-use.

All that runs afield of the committee's task, facilitator Jim Shirley reminded. 

“We have to keep ourselves focused on our job, which is recommendations on the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall going forward,” Shirley said. 

With its report due to the City Commission by the end of June 2025, the committee will double its meeting schedule to twice monthly beginning in January, the first on Jan. 17 when expectations to receive the final report on the state of the building from Karins Engineering. The committee will heavily rely on that report to recommend a new use for the Van Wezel, should the proposed Sarasota Performing Arts Center be built. 

If it is to be repurposed at all, committee member Robert Bunting reminded his colleagues.

“The night we started, (former city manager) Marlon Brown told us what our job was, and I distinctly remember him saying repurposing the Van Wezel or no purpose, and I haven't heard anybody talking about that yet,” said Bunting. “There doesn't have to be a future purpose for it, correct?”

Bunting’s recollection was confirmed Shirley. 

As information gathering turned toward discussion, philosophical differences were emerging for the first time among the committee members selected based on specific disciplines they bring. Bunting is a climatologist, Cosler a professional in theater design. Bunting asked Chung, the construction engineer of the group, to provide her thoughts based on her 18 months on the panel, a suggestion opposed by Selma Goker Wilson, an architect and interior designer. 

Photo by Andrew Warfield

Goker Wilson objected because that phase of the process is to occur in a January meeting. Her concern about the premature input by Chung could influence others’ thoughts prior to receiving the Karins study and the start of drafting their own report. 

“I think we've all been very careful not to be judgmental up to this point,” Goker Wilson said. “We've been careful to always talk about what we're doing in terms of gathering information until we assess it.”

Responded Bunting, “We've been here for more than a year. Lee-En has been thinking about it like all of us have, and what's the big whoop? It's input, just like anything else, and we're making a recommendation. We’re not making any decisions, so I think we should hear from her.”

Shirley ended the debate by inviting Chung to return to one of the two January meetings to share her thoughts with the committee. 

The matter of whether the committee might consider recommending national, state and/or local historic designation has also revealed some division, Chung reiterating her position stated in their prior meeting that such designation would only stymie physical changes to the building should it be repurposed.

Goker Wilson said Chung’s comments on that subject were poorly timed.

“I did think that some of the statements made at our last meeting, while I understand why they were made, were a little premature in terms of us processing information,” she said. 

Following the Jan. 17 meeting, the next Purple Ribbon Committee meeting is Jan. 27.