CBCC president Sharon Coldren, above at left, and environmental projects manager Patricia Reed hold a sign destined to hang above the door to the group’s new Coral Bay office.
After calling an office on the third floor of the Town and Country building in Coral Bay across from Skinny Legs home for more than seven years, the Coral Bay Community Council has a new location.
The non-profit organization recently moved downstairs to the second floor of the building, in the space which formerly housed the Coral Bay outpost of Kaleidoscope Video. Thanks to a core group of volunteers, the move took a mere two hours, explained CBCC president Sharon Coldren.
“It was difficult to make the decision to move because we had been upstairs in our old office since mid-2004,” said Coldren. “Once we made the decision, we got instant help from volunteers who moved everything in the office down here in two hours.”
Ernest Matthias, Barry Devine, Hal Usher and Claus Kroeger led the effort to relocate CBCC, including the group’s file cabinets and desks, in a matter of hours, Coldren explained.
“They came as a team and worked really fast,” she said. “We’re very grateful to them.”
Once downstairs in the new office, Dondi Reed and Leif Ekholm of A Few Good Handy Men installed shelving and Jay Dufur hooked up the new fan. Now it’s up to Coldren and CBCC employee Patricia Reed to get the new office in shape.
“We’ve been busy trying to put everything back together again and we’re determined to keep three work surfaces,” said Coldren. “
Now the only thing left is to tackle the office temperature. Coldren has been pricing out a much-needed air conditioning unit, she explained.
“We’ve been getting estimates on air conditioners and installation, and we’re really trying to make it happen,” she said.
Coldren and Reed continue to analyze the group’s recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded storm water projects and compile reports to share with fellow community organizations, government agencies and residents.
“We’re writing the reports in such a way that they will be of use to residents who want to improve storm water runoff so they won’t be simply technical,” said the CBCC president.
Last week Coldren gave a presentation, via conference call, to a NOAA meeting in D.C. focused on storm water improvement in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
“I found out that NOAA is working on similar projects in St. Thomas and St. Croix based on our work and analysis,” she said.
CBCC is inviting the community to stop by the group’s new office during an Open House soiree on Friday, March 9, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
The evening will include a silent auction for the chance to take home a pastel of Coral Bay donated by local artist Denise Wright, and a few surprises, according to Coldren.
“To add a little spice to our Open House there might be some surprises,” she said. “We also have a few items no longer needed in our new office such as a flat screen computer monitor and a table, which will also be silent-auctioned off. And as always our beautiful Coral Bay note cards are for sale.”