Eight months ago when the Shorewood City Council talked about the Southshore Center, the topic was possibly selling the building.
Last week, when the community center came up in council discussions, the topic was about how to handle the offers of donations that appear to be streaming in.
"We've done a lot in four or five months," said Kristi Anderson, who was hired by the city to run the center.
Walking into the center, at 5735 Country Club Road in Shorewood, the changes are immediately noticeable.
Leather chairs and a couch provide a warm welcome and there's a new receptionist area, all of which Anderson was quick to note were donations.
The worn wallpaper and stained carpeting have been replaced with a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting and a dance floor.
Window treatments and art created by local artists make the center's main room inviting.
"This has always been a jewel," said Anderson. "We've just polished it."
While the center hasn't looked so good in years, the financial outlook isn't as welcoming.
The Shorewood council reviewed a budget that shows an expected $52,000 loss this year. While next year's subsidy is expected to be less, the projections show losses for at least the next three years.
Anderson, who has been contracted to be Shorewood's park coordinator for the past five years, said she's up for the daunting challenge of managing a successful community center.
Back in 1996, the Southshore Center was built by the cities of Shorewood, Excelsior, Tonka Bay, Deephaven and Greenwood to provide a space for seniors to congregate. Since it opened, the center largely operated as a senior center, offering lunches and activities like woodcarving.
But when traditional funding streams that keep senior centers open were drying up, several years went by without a solution to keep the center financially stable.
The conversations came to a head earlier this year, when the Shorewood council began negotiating to sell the building to the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission. As a result, hundreds of residents stormed a council meeting in April demanding that the Southshore Center be saved.
In the end, Shorewood agreed to take over the management of center for the next three years and agreed to pay for all of the expenses, both capital and operating.
Since Anderson started in July, new partnerships have formed, which are hoped to bring new energy and more money to the center.
A successful Oktoberfest celebration, which was pegged as a grand re-opening, drew more than 200 people.
But that's not to say there haven't been disappointments.
A new partnership with the Minnetonka Center for the Arts got off to a slow start and a few classes had to be cancelled.
For a good part of the year, rentals weren't being taken because of the center's uncertainty. Because of the instability, the center lost a long term lease with the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society.
On the other hand, a rental agreement was recently signed with the South Shore Senior Partners (SSSP), which represents the seniors who use the building. The agreement calls for a $600 monthly payment. It's the first time they've paid rent to use the center, but it's an arrangement seniors had asked for last year when the responsibility of taking care of the center became overwhelming.
Bob Newman, chairperson of SSSP, said the changes have revitalized many of the programs, but has also meant adjusting to some change.
"Seniors aren't the only users of the center any more," said Newman. "There's more a sense of sharing."
While other rentals are beginning to pick up, Anderson expects there will be many years before the center becomes self sufficient - if it becomes self sufficient at all.
"I don't think any community center will sustain itself," said Anderson.
She compares the community center to the city's parks, which are paid for by the city's taxpayers for everyone's enjoyment.
Some of the losses could be offset if the other cities that own the building - Excelsior, Tonka Bay, Deephaven and Greenwood - put money toward the
center.
"It would be a real nice gesture of them," said Anderson.
While the terms of the new agreement with the other cities don't require them to contribute, some of the council members indicated earlier this year that they would make voluntary contributions.
Tonka Bay is saving $3,800 from the this year's budget to save for future capital improvements or maintenance.
Deephaven budgeted $3,000 for the center next year and Excelsior budgeted $2,000.
Projected budgets show the need for subsidies for at least the next three years.
"I don't want to give the council the false impression that we're going to break even," Shorewood City Administrator Brian Heck told Shorewood council members earlier this month. "We've tried to project as well as we can based on current activities."
Anderson said he has made getting rentals for center her priority.
While she's contracted to work a minimum of 17 hours, Anderson said she's easily working twice that. "It's a full time position," said Anderson, who added that she's been careful to manage expectations.
While Anderson can quickly rattle off what she wants the community center to be in three years, she's less certain what the management or ownership will look like.
"I have no idea what that piece of the future will look like," said Anderson.
For now she's busy promoting the center and trying to drum up new programming.
"We saved the center. Now we have to sustain the center," said Anderson.
