The Hoedown for the Barn was a success! Good friends came together and new friendships were made. The fire, the horses, the line dancers, the chili, the wine, the venue, the music—everything was wonderful.  We want to again thank our partners Cascade Community Theatre and Duvall Performing Arts for joining with us in this event.   Also we want to thank the following businesses that contributed to the event:

• Stephanie Combs Photography
• Willows Lodge
• Papa Murphy’s
• Sway Design
• Duvall Hardware
• Bird Brainz
• Duvall Tavern
• Cascade Community Theatre
• Duvall Pharmacy
• Duvall Flowers and Gifts
• Quiznos
• Ixtapa
• Thai Duvall
• Best Buddy Dog Wash
• Red Pepper Pizza
• Rocking “E” Feeds
• Red Swirl Yogurt
• Duvall Coffee House
• Triple Horn Brewing
• Special thanks to Christel Haven Equestrian Center for the beautiful location for our barn dance.

The music by Sweet Iron was outstanding and perfect for the Hoedown. The line dancers from Duvall Performing Arts were very skilled, entertaining and helpful. Thank you to all who came and all who helped make this event possible.  About 60 people attended and the event generated over $2,000! Most importantly everyone had a great time and we are getting a great group of people focused and working together again for the creation of a wonderful community space.

At the Saturday (October 25) meeting the Vision Statement for the Barn was updated and a Statement for Development of the Barn was created. Here they are:

 Vision for the Barn:

Develop a sustainable center for the advancement of the arts. The center will serve as a community gathering place for all age groups and cultivate the ongoing development of the artistic center of our community, and provide a place for public entertainment, cultural events, and other community activities.  The barn will be a living link to our history and agriculture. It will also serve as an economic and cultural stimulant for Duvall and the Snoqualmie Valley.

Statement for Development of the Barn:

The Duvall Foundation for the Arts will partner with Westcott Homes, the City of Duvall, and other key stakeholders to develop the center. Some of the design criteria are creation of a rural feeling around the barn, open loft space with wood acoustics inside the barn, and use of existing materials to the extent practical. Space design considerations are for the art events and performance activities as well as for other community events that are envisioned.  In addition, design elements will support revenue-generating events.  During development of the barn, safety, cost, code compliance, and schedule will also be drivers.

Work continues on our upcoming Cowbell Event.

A future Hoedown for the Barn is in the works.

The GoFundMe Page is active and has almost $500 donated to date!

Next Saturday we will be working on a Strategic Plan for the barn. We continue to encourage public input and participation. The Saturday meetings are held at the Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center from 11am until 2pm.

Thanks to all for your continued interest in and support of the barn.

You may have noticed some activity around the barn late last week! The brush that was previously cut from around the barn was collected by a track hoe. Under a grading permit from the City, gravel was placed around the barn to create a dry working surface during the wet weather.

At the Barn Committee meeting on Saturday October 18, the orientation of the new facility was confirmed. Design elements of the outside of the facility were discussed and the permit process was described. We are waiting on an evaluation by the structural engineer before more work is done on barn.

The upcoming barn dance was also discussed.  The event promises to be very fun, with line dance lessons, a raffle, live music and more!  Final preparations are under way.  Click here for more info, or here to buy your tickets!!

We are continuing to plan our event to try to break the world record for number of cowbells played simultaneously! Volunteers needed! Contact the DFA if you’re interested in helping out!

We discussed personality types and how they impact team dynamics.

The team decided to refine the vision statement for the barn, develop a mission statement for the barn, and develop a written strategic plan for the barn – in that order.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday October 25, at 10am to 12pm at the Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center.  Expect to talk about what will then be last night’s fun at the Hoedown, vision statement, mission statement, updates on structural engineering, issues around cost estimates, and the upcoming cowbell event.

The City of Duvall has posted “Keep Out” notices on the barn to protect public safety. Only permitted activities will be allowed at the barn. DFA agrees and fully supports this action.

See y’all on Friday night!!

This was a another productive week for the Barn project.  Thank you to those of you who came to our meeting at the Duvall Visitors and Centennial Center on Saturday!  Wow what a great group of people!!!  So many talented folks pulling in the same direction! The energy was fantastic! Can’t wait to continue with this momentum!

We feel that the meeting on Saturday was very successful. One of the best things about it was that it was attended by people of all ages.  There were many good ideas and commitments made by volunteers. Overall there was a spirit of teamwork.  To pull this project together and really make it happen we need all of you, your positive energy, your ideas, and your strengths!  Thank you all! We are so excited to be working with so many members of our wonderful community and can’t wait to continue to strengthen our team.

At the meeting Lin McBride talked about the history of the DFA and the Barn project. We talked about the current Memorandum of Understanding among the City, the DFA, and Westcott Homes, which was approved last week. We discussed the barn itself and its current condition including the collapse of the south face of the barn.  The exterior design for the barn was presented and discussed. The future location of the barn was also shown and discussed. The need to submit the site plan information to the City next week was also talked about. The City Planning Manager, Lara Thomas, was even present to answer questions!

The group talked about what was the most important part of the barn to save. The consensus was that the loft space was the most important thing to the group.  The contractor was at the meeting to discuss the possible methods of stabilizing the barn. The group decided to move ahead with emergency stabilization while additional information is gathered. Connie Zimmerman was tasked to work with the contractor to develop a scope of work and get the contractor under contract to begin the stabilization. The practical challenges of using a dairy barn which was built so many years ago for an occupancy for public assembly were discussed. Strategies to address the project challenges were explored.  The contractor, the DFA, and the project architect agreed on a structural engineering firm and Connie Zimmerman was tasked to contact the structural engineer.  It was acknowledged that there is a lot of work to do, and some of the work items and products were listed, and the fact that they all need done quickly was discussed. Angie noted that the mission statement for the barn should be on the DFA web site. The group agreed. Elizabeth took that as an action item. Kristin Connors suggested that we hold a rally for families that would focus on children and cow bells. It was decided by the group that the cowbell event would occur after the barn dance and the planning for both events would have to be done now.  We decided to meet again next Saturday from 11am to 2pm.  Please join if you can.

Bill Connors is drafting a project communications plan.  Thank you Bill!

Final plans for the Barn Dance are coming together! Tickets are onsale at Brown Paper Tickets! Admission includes a chili dinner and beverages (wine and beer for the over 21 crowd)! At 7pm dancers from Duvall Performing Arts will lead line dancing lessons, and at 8 Cool Water will perform live! We hope you can make it out for this fun, family event!

We are currently planning our Cowbell Rally. Our hope is to break the Guinness record for most cowbells played simultaneously!! Keep your eyes on our Facebook Page for more information!

Great news!  The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) passed at City Council.  This agreement sets forth the way that the City, the Duvall Foundation for the Arts, and Westcott Homes will work together to achieve the barn project.  This is a huge step, a major milestone, and something that all supporters of the barn project should celebrate.

Late Tuesday night the barn moved enough to be visibly shifting on the south wall.  Wednesday morning DFA started getting reports and pictures of the south wall which was buckled.  These quick reports were coming to us with pictures by way of social media.  Thank you to everyone who is keeping an eye on the barn!

We immediately called the contractor that has been consulting with us, regarding possible next steps.  Two jacks were placed inside the barn.  In addition DFA met with City Planners and City Engineers and fenced the driveway.  We met with the architect and reviewed the current options.  We have also met with other contractors to get additional options and we coordinated with the architect on selection of a structural engineer.  We are preparing to meet with all those that love the barn, care about the arts, and want a community performing arts center. There is just too much to be able to share it all here.  Please come to the Community Open House if at all possible.  We are going to be making some major decisions and we need your input.

Coordination with City and Westcott Homes continues on the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Coordination has begun on draft agreement between the developer and DFA.

Work on the next submittal to the City continues for site layout approval.  This provides the location of the reconstructed barn and is part of the approval process, but will not have construction level detail. It will be more of a map of the new site, with the location of the barn marked.

Our focus this week has been on the exterior final appearance of the barn as required for this stage of permitting.  Later this week we will have meetings with our architect, Milbrandt Architects, and the City to discuss details of the planned submittal.

News:

The Barn failed on its southern face.  Emergency meetings are being held to consider our options.  We called a contractor who has been working with us, and on October 7, 2014, he came out and put two house jacks inside the barn. The Barn Project team met outside the barn that evening to look at the damage. The City of Duvall and Westcott Homes were also contacted. Work will continue on the barn this week. We are in the process of hiring the structural engineer for the project.

The Barn is unsafe at this time, please don’t go to site.

We have known that much of the barn will need to be rebuilt. This Saturday we will be further exploring our options during our Community Open House, at the Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center, from 11:00am until 2:00pm. Critical decisions will be made during the Open House, so we encourage everyone in the community to come join the conversation.

It has been asked, “So why didn’t the DFA put a roof on the building 10 years ago?”

Answer:  DFA didn’t own the barn. DFA didn’t have a contract to access the barn. DFA did not own the property where the barn sits or any other property to move the barn to. So instead of putting money into a barn that DFA didn’t own and had no way of acquiring, DFA saved the money, in hopes that an opportunity would arise to breath life back into the project. The DFA has not touched the funds that were raised ten years ago. You can read our Annual Report and see that the money is safe in an account and has not been spent. Now we are presented with this new opportunity, and we are embracing it.

Upcoming Events:

Community Open House, Saturday, October 11, 2014, from 11:00am until 2:00pm, Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center

Carnation Farmer’s Market, October Arts Month: Tuesday, October 21, 2014, Linoleum Printing Workshop with artist, Dan Cautrell, sponsored by Duvall Foundation for the Arts

Hoedown for the Barn, Friday, October 24, 2014, from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, Christel Haven Equestrian Center, tickets on sale now

We are preparing for our Open House, and hope to see everyone there. Thank you for your interest.

Are you ready for a Hoedown??? DFA, in partnership with Duvall Performing Arts and Cascade Community Theatre are happy to bring you the first ever Hoedown for the Barn! Friday, October 24, 2014, from 7pm until 10pm. This is an all-ages family event!The fine folks from Duvall Performing Arts will do a line dancing lesson, followed by live music by Cool Water! Check the flyer for more info!

Save the date!

Come get the lowdown at the hoedown!!

We hope you can join us for our first barn dance, brought to you by the Duvall Foundation for the Arts in partnership with Duvall Performing Arts and Cascade Community Theatre! The dance will be held at Christel Haven Farms, 26900 NE 145th Street in Duvall on Friday, October 24, 2014.   This is a family event open to all ages!   More details, including times and ticket prices, to come.  Performers from DPA will be on hand to teach line dancing, followed by live music by Cool Water.  We’re excited to bring you this festive and fun fall event. If you’d like to lend a hand, please let us know by contacting barn@duvallarts.org or by visiting our Volunteers page!

Work on the barn is moving ahead full-speed ahead! We are pleased to announce that we have accepted Milbrandt Architects‘ very generous offer to create architectural documents for the exterior of the barn free of charge. We are very happy to be working with Milbrandt, who are also the architects for the new development the barn will call home.

So, thank you so much to Milbrandt Architects!! We’re beyond excited to finally share the preliminary architectural plans with the community (you will need to scroll the window below to view the plans):

Planning continues for our Community Open House on October 11, 2014 at the Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center from 11am until 2pm. We are looking forward to hearing the community’s thoughts and ideas about the Barn Project.

DFA, the City, and Westcott Homes are working towards finalizing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which describes generally how the three entities will work together going forward.  We are also starting to work through the details of a private agreement between Westcott Homes and the DFA that will further detail how Westcott homes and DFA will work together.  More information regarding how these agreements are progressing will be discussed at the upcoming Community Open House.

Concerns have been raised about the roughly $100,000 that was previously raised by DFA for the barn. Those funds were set aside in a special bank account and saved, hoping that an opportunity like this one would develop. That money will go toward the Barn Project. It has not been spent on other things.

The first constructability meeting occurred this week with the contractor.  Clearly there are challenges associated with the current condition of the barn.  DFA is working on hiring the right structural engineer to help us work through these issues.

The color pallet for the outside of the barn is also currently in development.  The goal is to find colors that reference and honor the historical and original color of the barn that fits within the barn’s new surroundings, and that resonates with the community. This will be discussed at the upcoming Community Open House.  We are really looking forward to seeing you all then. As always, thank you for your support!

This was a big week for the barn project.

The blackberries are mostly cleared away from the barn.  Thank you to Jim Haack for clearing away the blackberries.

The architectural drawings for the barn have been developed.  Over the years community input has been collected regarding the barn design and use.  This input has been captured in the architectural drawings that were prepared in the past.  Those architectural drawings, along with current understanding of desired future uses for the barn, and current codes were used by the architect to develop a draft set of plans.  Then the project team reviewed the draft drawings and made changes to control costs and keep the design consistent with prior community input.  This was essentially a conceptual design review and value engineering review of the draft architectural plans.  The architect then modified the plans as requested and those plans have been provided to the a City.  We will be posting those plans here and on Facebook in the very near future, and they will be available at the Community Open House. The exterior design has been developed to keep the feeling of the barn and provide code required elevator access and two sets of stairs. The interior space is a preliminary design and will be more fully developed through community input.  The overall goal for the interior is to provide flexible space for many activities and to of course fit within the structural requirements of the building.

DFA is currently working with a contractor to do a constructability review of the design. The idea is to get a contractor’s view of how hard it will be to do the physical work and to get suggestions on modifying the design to make it easier to construct, which will make it more cost effective.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation provided a letter of support to the Duvall City Council. Thanks to Bill and Kristin Connors for getting this barn recognized as an endangered property.

For this project to succeed the DFA, the City, and Westcott homes will be working together. A framework of how the parties will work together and a general description of what agreements will be needed has been written down in a memorandum of understanding (MOU).  The MOU is still being refined but is close to complete.  There was a public hearing regarding the MOU at the Duvall City Council meeting this week.  Testimony was positive.  Thank you to all of the supporters that came to the hearing.

A barn dance has been planned to support this project.  It will be on Friday, October 24.   More details to come! This will be a family event co-sponsored by Duvall Performing Arts.

The project team is growing.  Please join us. Volunteers can sign up on our Barn Volunteer Page.

Please join us for our Community Open House on Saturday, October 11, 2014 from 11am until 2pm at the Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center.

2013

• In the middle of 2013, rumors started about Newhall-Jones possibly selling the Thayer Barn land to a new developer, Westcott Homes.
• Duvall Foundation of the Arts (DFA) started talking with the city about how this could revitalize the project. At the same time Kristin and Bill Connors became interested in saving the barn as an historic building, and created much public awareness.
• The City of Duvall, Westcott Homes, DFA, and the Connors all had various meetings, trying to figure out the best next steps for saving the barn.

2014 – January, February

• In January 2014, Westcott Homes officially purchased the land, which included the Thayer Barn.
• In January, both DFA and the Connors met with Westcott Homes.
• Kristin Connors nominated the Thayer Barn to the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation for its 2014 Most Endangered Properties list, and to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Most Endangered Structures list.

2014 – March, April

• Both DFA and the Connors spoke at the Duvall City Council’s Council of the Whole (COW) regarding plans for saving the barn.
• After meeting with the developer, barn moving company, and barn restoration company, Lin McBride, President of DFA, presented a project outline to the Duvall City Council.
• Westcott Homes invited all interested parties to meet at their office in Kirkland – in attendance were representatives of the City of Duvall, DFA, the Connors and one independent contractor.
• The Connors and DFA met with Chris Moore, Executive Director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, to discuss how to move forward with Westcott Homes for saving the Barn.

2014 – May

• Lin McBride attended the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation annual meeting/conference in Wenatchee, WA, where the Trust unveiled their 2014 list of Endangered Properties. Duvall’s Thayer Barn was one of five properties on that list. All five properties were highlighted in a video presentation that told the history and circumstances of each property (http://youtu.be/iFOPvcRTr1I). The video of the Thayer Barn included interviews with both Kristin Connors and Lin McBride.
• DFA presented a proposal to Westcott Homes, outlining steps to preserve the Barn in place during the summer/fall of 2014 and 2015, and to move the barn to its permanent location within the Westcott development by 2016.
• DFA presented a financial plan to Westcott Homes and is currently pursuing funding opportunities.

2014 – Summer

• The DFA has been working to stabilize the barn with the help of our tireless volunteers.

2014 – September

• On September 25, the Duvall City Council will vote whether or not to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city, the DFA, and Westcott Homes. Once the MOU is approved, the DFA will have more information for the community.