Imagine a welcoming destination where residents, students and visitors could learn about the city’s remarkable history through archives, exhibits, educational programs, lectures, and community events.
By DIANE P. CYR | Biddeford
The Budget Committee has recommended converting the Community Center into shared-use space to make it more inclusive and equitable. At first glance, that sounds like a positive step.
More organizations need affordable space, and everyone wants community resources to be accessible.
The problem is that many nonprofit organizations need far more than a room for meetings.
Organizations currently located in the Community Center — including the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center, Meals on Wheels, the Over 55 Club, La Kermesse, and the St. Louis Alumni Association—depend on permanent space to fulfill their missions. They preserve archives, maintain exhibits, prepare meals, store equipment, provide educational programming, and create places where people gather and connect.
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Simply asking these groups to remove everything from their rooms so those spaces can be shared does not solve the problem.
During committee discussions, there was mention of shared storage, but no detailed plan explaining where organizations would keep their collections, equipment, archives, or materials — or how they would continue operating.
Perhaps the most important question has not been answered.
Where will these organizations go?
Has the city identified alternative space? Has anyone assessed what each organization actually needs to continue serving the public?
The proposal also assumes that organizations seeking space only need meeting rooms. That simply is not true. Many organizations that have requested space face the same challenge as those already in the Community Center. They also require permanent homes where they can preserve collections, conduct research, store equipment, or welcome visitors.
Replacing dedicated nonprofit space with shared meeting rooms may simply shift the problem from one organization to another without truly solving it.
Rather than viewing this as a space problem alone, perhaps this is an opportunity to think bigger.
“Has the city identified alternative
space? Has anyone assessed
what each organization actually
needs to continue serving the public?”
What if Biddeford created a dedicated Cultural and Heritage Center?
Imagine a welcoming destination where residents, students and visitors could learn about the city’s remarkable history through archives, exhibits, educational programs, lectures, and community events.
Organizations such as the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center, the Biddeford Historical Society, the Biddeford Mills Museum, La Kermesse, the St. Louis Alumni Association, Friends of Wood Island Light, and others could share resources while maintaining their individual missions.
Instead of competing for limited space, these organizations could collaborate to create something even greater than any one organization could accomplish alone.
Over the years, Biddeford has invested in new schools and public facilities. Perhaps now is the time to begin a conversation about investing in a permanent home for the organizations that preserve our shared history and cultural identity.
No one opposes making community space available to more organizations. The goal is admirable.
But before asking existing nonprofits to pack up decades of work with no clear destination, let’s pause and ask a simple question:
Can we find a solution that serves everyone?
I believe we can.
. . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Diane Cyr of Biddeford is the president of the Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center.
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NOTE | The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Biddeford Gazette, its staff, affiliates or sponsors. We encourage robust and diverse community conversations on topics related to the city of Biddeford. For information about how to submit your own column, please CONTACT US
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