A modern community pool and a multi-cultural arts center were among topics tossed around at Monday’s meeting about the four existing indoor facilities overseen by Redmond Parks and Recreation.

City park planners want to know how the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center (ORSCC), Redmond Senior Center (RSC), Old Fire House Teen Center (OFH), and Redmond Pool at Hartman Park are or aren’t serving residents’ needs.

The casual gathering at Redmond City Hall drew some residents, a few business owners, and some representatives of the City Council and Commissions.

B Sanders, senior park planner, introduced the meeting’s moderator, Ken Ballard, a sub-consultant from Seattle’s SHKS (Snyder Hartung Kane Strauss) Architects. Ballard called the meeting the start of a “two-fold process, to study physical aspects of the structures and the demands of citizens and groups.”

There are no immediate plans to close or alter any of the buildings, but this is the time to ponder what’s needed five, 10 or 15 years from now.

The consultant team and city staff have been meeting with focus groups such as seniors and teens. Parks and Recreation will continue to serve them, along with parents, children and other adults in Redmond. Ballard asked attendees to describe what works and what doesn’t. The dialogue flowed freely.

Sabrina Mix represented the Enso Center for International Arts, which offers martial arts classes at the ORSCC as well as at its own studios near Perrigo Park. She said classroom availability can sometimes be scarce. She’d like to see more flexibility in how rooms at the ORSCC can be divided, to accommodate more activities at the same time.

Mix also said heating and cooling systems in the ORSCC are inefficient and that some rooms are musty. She added that she’d like to preserve the look of the historic building but make it more environmentally up-to-date. And outside of the ORSCC, said Mix, “some people are confused at what is ORSCC property and what belongs to Redmond Elementary.”

While discussing the Redmond Pool, no one disputed that the building is obsolete, overcrowded and too hot in the spectator areas, while the water in the pool is often too cold. Parking near the pool was also deemed inadequate.

As the conversation veered toward venues for public art and music, Clint McCune, who is co-owner of SoulFood Books and Cafe and also a Redmond Arts Commissioner, said he thinks of SoulFood as a public space with open mic events that draw up to 50 performers every month and an art wall that changes every two weeks.

Rick Smith, who founded The New Poet’s Society to reward young writers and also teaches creative writing classes at the RSC, stated that “SoulFood has become THE venue to attend for the poetic community.”

Redmond Arts Commissioner John Stilin, who is running unopposed for Position 6 on the Redmond City Council, agreed that SoulFood “attracts everyone from four-year-olds to seniors” and is a fine model of a small arts venue that welcomes the community. Stilin also emphasized that when people hear the word “recreation,” they must think beyond sports and make cultural opportunities a priority, too.

Smith proposed a multicultural arts center, built over a course of three to five years with city funds supplemented by donations from corporations and citizens. Ideally, he said, the center would have enough rooms for multiple classes, seminars and workshops, space for permanent art displays and a large auditorium for performing arts, which could also be rented out.

There was some debate as to whether a theater on the scale of Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Center would bring more traffic congestion to downtown Redmond. City Councilmember Hank Myers suggested that an arts venue roughly the size of the Kirkland Performance Center might be a good compromise.

Overall, those at the meeting said they love Redmond’s outdoor recreation sites — and feel it’s time for the indoor facilities to catch up to the quality of Grass Lawn Park, for example.

Strangely, however, one resident wondered aloud if Grass Lawn Park was in Bellevue. And a couple didn’t know the location of the ORSCC.

But this discussion is far from over. A random-sampling survey about the indoor recreation facilities will be mailed to Redmond residents this summer. More public meetings are planned. Comments and questions can be directed to B Sanders at (425) 556-2328 or bsanders@redmond.gov.

As well, City Councilmember Kim Allen said a suggestion box will be placed at the City Council booth at Derby Days, which is Saturday, July 11 outside Redmond City Hall.

For more information, visit www.redmond.gov.