Blog: Terrapin Crossroads -- Word on the Street II

Fairfax is never at a loss for opinions and we pride ourselves in sharing them. So, I am enthusiastic about the fact that we are having this .”  Here, let me try to clear up some items that arose out of my :

Currently, I Am Leaning Toward It – For awhile I was against the proposed . And then I was for it and then against it. As I weigh all the arguments and discussion, I find the balance of my thought is for it, for reasons I will list in a moment. I wrote my first blog on Terrapin Crossroads to bring out all the concerns I think are being well-articulated in the town. Conversation is critical in these matters and good conversation entails cons as well as pros.

The process is rigorous -- and is only just beginning. And it must be so. The Leshes and their developer seem quite open to listening and I think there will be negotiating points that will solve a number of problems. 

After many meetings and discussions I am still concerned that:

1) The offering to the town of $5 on each ticket will not adequately cover the town’s expenses. We may need more police, fire and, dare I say it, rescue coverage. This can be very expensive. I think budgets for this need to be carefully drawn up and adjustments made. This is totally possible.

2) The number of visitors at night will vastly increase. One-thousand “new people” a week is a lot of folks. So we will need to be both respectful and watchful. Our teens are a little nervous and have communicated this to me. “Will I be able to go downtown and hang out okay?” We can all do our best to do what we always do – keep things chill, watch out for people who need help, and do what is proper to keep incidents from getting out of hand – whether it’s guiding people out of trouble or calling the police.

3) Traffic and Parking. Since these both have to do with cars, I’m lumping them together this time. Traffic on concert nights is going to be a bear for about an hour or so in the evening. Late at night could be tough, but I think we all are either in bed or out and about ourselves at 12:30 a.m. when the shows will end.

For parking, we can follow the model of other towns like Sausalito where people have permit stickers for their cars. I think Claus and Bennett House and Marinda Oaks and maybe even the lower part of Scenic will need special stickers so that non-Fairfaxians don’t invade their streets.

4) There is a Fragile Nature to Our Community. Ah! This is the tender nub. Voted three years in a row “The Town I Would Most Like to Live in Besides My Own” Fairfax is often teased but also grudgingly admired. We’re fun, we’re artistic, we are passionately democratic and civically engaged. We have the rockingest parties. We are a town of modest homes and in many cases, modest people. On my street, like yours, there are nurses, teachers, plumbers, lawyers, a doctor or two, a film maker or two, artists, bankers, kids, students, real estate agents, retired people. And yes, lots of musicians. We all came for the same reasons: we wanted to be someplace that still lived on the human scale, where we would feel safe, where we would know each other and enjoy each other, where nature would be a real part of our lives. 

Our town's mission statement says it clearly: People, Nature, Culture. We don’t want that to be damaged.

Why Am I Leaning Toward Terrapin Crossroads?

Let’s look again at some of and let me review what a week’s worth of study has shown me:

1) ”It’s too big.” Although the IJ insists the building is only about 8,000 square feet it is actually a two-story building of 16,000 square feet. So people are a little nervous. However, Albertson’s, which is becoming , is almost 20,000 square feet. So Terrapin Crossroads would be considerably smaller than the new Good Earth.

The plans look a little daunting. The drawings of the building looks like it will be gargantuan. And yet it is no taller than our rigorous code stipulates. Former Mayor Wendy Baker, who is also an architect, pointed out that the drawings should show the building in scale to Bennett House and other neighboring structures. This is a good idea and may allay some fears. This can be fixed with an artist’s pencil.

2) “It’s gonna change the town.” Yup. It is going to do that. It could very possibly bring in lots of new people and lots of new money. Our merchants are for it. Eager for it. It’s no picnic, in good economies or bad ones, to thrive in this town. And, it has to be said, many of our favorite businesses are only holding on for dear life.

There are some important pluses to consider. Terrapin Crossroads is a proposed music venue. We have been looking for something like this – a commercial endeavor that is commensurate with our town’s values and traditions - for years.

We have resources here – our tradition of music and art, our open spaces, our homemade food and drink, our warm, beautiful climate. People will come, enjoy, spend money and go away. We already absorb 500 people a night on a weekend. Perhaps the same number going to one particular place and maybe hanging out at the bars later, is a number we can handle. In any case, I believe the town coffers will expand with new money. Money is not the only reason we may want this enterprise, but isn’t it an important one?

We have been using taxes as our supplementary resources – expanded parcel taxes and sales taxes. Do we want to go on like this indefinitely? Can we?

3) “This is not really a Fairfax enterprise.” As it stands, it looks like Mr. Lesh and his band, family and friends will be the only artists on the big stage. I am not sure if this is true. I think this can be negotiated. I think the Leshes have made it clear they respect this town and have a long, pleasant history connected to it. I think we can build on mutual admiration and see if Terrapin Crossroads can expand opportunities for our local, extraordinary talent, both young and old.

4) “It’s too Expensive for Fairfaxians to enjoy.” $150 a ticket was the price bandied about at the Chamber of Commerce sponsored meeting in the Pavilion last week.  That’s a lot for the vast majority of us. Yet, that price will certainly discourage a clientele of idle hangers on. The question of Fairfaxians getting a break on the tickets could still be negotiated, I believe. 

The key word here is negotiation. Someone the town trusts, someone the family trusts, needs to be brought in here. It cannot be anyone on the Planning Commission and it cannot be anyone on the Town Council. By law, Council Members and Planning Commissioners cannot discuss the project at this stage. 

I could not do this task, but I have someone in mind. Do you know someone who could do this great task?