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::: COMMUNITY NEWS
An outline of the proposed Lake Clementia Amphitheater stage cover has been added, drawn to scale, on this photo. Proposed cover for Clementia stage draws mixed reactions Published Thursday, June 16, 2005 A plan to put a 24-foot-high cover over the Lake Clementia Amphitheater stage is drawing mixed reactions. To RMA President Paul Gumbinger, an architect, the design raises concerns about aesthetics. To Entertainment, Theatre and Culture for Rancho Murieta, the cover is a necessity for the some of the acts the volunteer group brings to the amphitheater. ETC is in its fourth year of providing concerts for the community. Five years ago, when Operating Engineers trainees and the RMA constructed the amphitheater, taking advantage of a natural depression along the shoreline, no cover was envisioned. “That venue is so nice because you can look across the lake,” Gumbinger said.
“I appreciate what ETC needs and what they do for the community. … A cover of some sort would be nice. But not that cover. … We have a difference of opinion.” The current design calls for concrete columns supporting a roof structure of wood-product beams topped by a fabric cover. Gumbinger is concerned that the use of wood may create maintenance issues for the RMA in the future. Randy Jenco, who is leading the project and has volunteered labor and some materials, characterized the design as "very rustic" and "see-through" at a Parks Committee meeting in April. At that meeting, Gumbinger
stressed the need for detailed drawings. “We don’t want
to buy a pig in a poke,” he told Jenco. RMA Architectural Manager Mark Parsons said he told ETC the association needed a site plan, floor plan, perspective drawings and an elevation to evaluate the design. To date, only two drawings have been provided. The first drawing depicts a structure with a gable roof that spans the concrete slab stage. The roof is supported by two columns on either side of the stage and two at the back. The stage of the amphitheater is 50 feet wide and 37 feet deep where it arches out in front. Gumbinger characterized the cover design as “monumental” and “fairly massive.” The concrete columns are 24 feet high, about half as tall as the stage is wide, and they are 24 inches in diameter. The second drawing is a modified design that will be considered at Thursday’s ARC meeting. The gable roof is gone. On paper, the structure resembles the redwood shade structures at the park. The diameter of the columns is reduced to 16 or 18 inches, but they remain 24 feet long. To provide some sense of the height of the structure, Parsons pointed out that the columns would be eight feet higher that the elevation of the amphitheater, which drops about 16 feet from the service road to the stage. Jenco said he began working on the project with ETC about six months ago. He developed the design with Steve Hart, one of the founding members of ETC, using a catalogue of stage covers as a reference. The proportions of the structure proposed for Clementia are standard, he said. The amphitheater cover is a new kind of project for Jenco, who builds bridges for a living and has built ball fields at Stonehouse Park in his spare time. He said residents Bob Kjome and Chris Bobo are also working on the project. After ARC reviews the design, it will go to the RMA board for approval, then to the Parks Committee for approval and finally to the county for a building permit, Jenco said.
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