Hello everyone, first a quick update:

It has been a while since we started this "phase one" of our renovation plans at The Commons and, as many of you have seen, some wonderful updates and changes have already been made.

Yet one major aspect of this first campaign is not quite finished, we still need to install a new ceiling in our gallery. Everyone seems to love the new track lighting. Since the lighting install in May, we have had two excellent exhibitions in the gallery, which really benefited from this upgrade.

However, the ceiling issue has gone unfinished for long enough! We did buy some samples of a vinyl ceiling, which is the original solution proposed in our campaign, but we found these products to be flimsy, cheap and frankly we were a little creeped out by the idea of having a plastic ceiling.

Eventually a member of our community reached out with contacts at his former employer: American Tin Ceiling ( https://www.americantinceilings.com ). Recently we were able to get a sales rep from ATC to hear about our project and they offered a dramatic discount actually bringing what would normally be a $6,000 tin ceiling down into the range that can be covered by this campaign!

So, we are happy to announce that we have committed to purchasing a new tin ceiling from ATC, as well as crown molding to give the new ceiling an elegant transition to the gallery walls!

We are still ever so short of our intended fundraising goal and wanted to get this link in front of you once more, please consider donating anything you can to help us finally complete this project!

We are a 100% Board giving Non-Profit Organization. So far, our Board has given $1,161.11 towards getting this campaign expedited. We hope you are as excited about this project as we are!

Dear friends and supporters,

Welcome to the first in a progression of heart-warming renovations to The Commons. We intend to start with small but impactful improvements, which will exponentially make our beloved building more welcoming and useful to our community.

After careful consideration, we decided to start in the room at the heart of our building. Some have called it the café, the gallery or the dining room, though it doesn't have an official name (yet), it is the room which gets used the most. This is where we have our board meetings, where the Square-dancing happens, where our monthly Satsang are held, where One Spirit Rising come together, where the Driftless Folk School carves their spoons, where the Vegan Potluck can be found, where the McIntosh Library After School Program comes to visit. It is often used as box office, concessions and intermission hangout during our many concerts and theatrical offerings. It is connected to our beloved licensed kitchen. It is how you get to the bathrooms. It has been many things and will continue to develop. This is where our community communes. We want to continue to improve the space and get ready for future events, conferences, meetings, exhibitions, dining & drinks, music & dancing and much more!

The top priorities in this room are the ceiling and the lights. As you may know, the current state of the ceiling is not optimal for creating exciting and invigorating events. The lighting is fluorescent and covered with paint, then the entire drop ceiling is covered in drooping white fabric that has not been cleaned for a very long time. Though it was probably a pretty fun and atmospheric solution for some time, the results are now a very dim and dreary atmosphere that makes our 1000 square foot hall seem much smaller.

We recently hosted an art exhibition called "Scenes From The Coulee", which featured 40 pieces of regional artists depicting their most beloved local sights. Over the course of the exhibition, we regularly reflected on how nice it could have been if the lighting was more appropriate for art display. We are the destination for a monthly after-school program field trip, which brilliantly included the exhibition in a scavenger hunt that allowed a group of 1st-4th grade children to explore the room, staring intently at each piece of art to take note of how many barns, birds, creeks and other such objects they could find. It was during this special event that we decided to finally do something and prioritize making this room a more ideal environment for such wonderful moments.

With this in mind, we are planning to remove the hanging fabric from the ceiling and upgrade the lighting using basic track lighting with moveable heads. This track lighting will mount directly to the drop ceiling frame. This will cost $2,155 for the electrical work, tracks and heads and an additional $100 for light bulbs.

We also need to replace the decayed drop ceiling panels with more elegant and subtly decorative vinyl drop-ins, inspired by the old embossed tin ceiling that we found above the drop ceiling. For this, we will need approximately 115 new 2x4 tiles, and the cost will be $2000. Adding crown molding would provide an excellent transition from the ceiling to the walls, and for this we will need an additional $300.

The result will be something like this:

Another exciting detail was revealed on a recent exploratory inspection of the current ceiling. We found an unterminated heating vent above the drop ceiling blowing plenty of hot air. It would be an excellent upgrade to add an extension pipe which terminates into multiple vents in the new ceiling, which would make us exceedingly more efficient in our utilities usage and significantly lower what is typically our most costly expense. The price for materials and labor to make this finishing touch would be $530

Our goal is to raise a total of at least $5500. This money will provide our room with warm professional gallery lighting, an elegant new ceiling and a much improved heat efficiency for our first and second floors.

All materials needed for this proposed upgrade are currently in stock. Our electrician and contractor have a small window of availability bookmarked for us, and a handful of volunteers have pledged time to complete the work within the next 2-6 weeks. Once these funds are raised, we can have the entire upgrade finished within 2 weeks time.

Please consider supporting us in this initiative. Your donation will be tax deductible, as we are a non-profit organization. The increase in light, heat, space, and beauty will benefit us all and bring more joy to the community at large.

If you would like to see pictures of any details described herein, or would like to stop by for a visit to see the project, please get in touch via the phone number or email listed below.

Please help us make this space a beautiful and functional community gathering place. Any amount you can donate will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
CR
Board of Directors Chair
608-286-2495
cr@thecommonsviroqua.org

Renovate The Commons

By Artists and Friends Inc

Renovate The Commons

(Phase One - Lounge Ceiling)