Groveport Messenger - March 24th, 2024

PAGE 8 - GROVEPORT MESSENGER - March 24, 2024
KidSpace’s future in limbo
By Rick Palsgrove
Groveport Editor
Groveport City Council will most likely
postpone a vote on the future of the
Crooked Alley KidSpace building until its
April 8 meeting.
The delay is because council will not be
at full strength at its March 25 meeting
and council members want all six members
to be present for the vote.
The 3,100 square foot KidSpace building,
located at 630 Wirt Road, was built in
1955 and was originally the Groveport
Municipal Building for many years and
later was home to the senior center.
KidSpace moved into the building in the
early 2000s after the senior center moved
to the Groveport Recreation Center.
Council must decide if it wants to
demolish the KidSpace building - at an
estimated cost of $30,000 - or repair it at
an approximate cost of $800,000.
According to Groveport Public Services
Director Brian Strayer, the building needs
the following: a new roof, new electrical
panel, upgraded HVAC, exterior brick tuck
pointing, repairs to a “significant” crack on
the east side of the building, repairs to the
main floor which has settled and cracked,
window replacements, repairs to rusted
window transoms, new gutters, interior
and exterior painting, and elimination of
mold.
City officials said demolishing the building
would allow for the creation of expanded
public parking in the downtown area.
“We are looking how best to maximize
the existing parking area,” said Groveport
City Administrator B.J. King.
King said several downtown area businesses
have expressed a need for more public
parking and the city is looking at
options. Currently the downtown public
parking lots south of Main Street along
Wirt Road are often full. Another downtown
public parking lot with about 99
spaces is located on the north side of Main
Street near Ace Hardware and Delaney’s.
Council is considering two pieces of legislation
to address the situation. One
would authorize King to solicit bids and
contract for the re-alignment and expansion
of the existing municipal parking lot
situated along Wirt Road, Crooked Alley,
and Cherry Street.
Groveport City Engineer Steve Farst
said this proposed parking expansion
would increase the parking capacity in the
lot to approximately 100 to 112 spaces from
the current 60 spaces.
“If approved, the plan associated with
this project would include the demolition of
KidSpace and the closure of a portion of
Cherry Street to combine these properties
with the existing municipal parking lot
property,” said King.
The second ordinance would authorize
King to contract with Leukco Construction
for the buildout of the second floor of the
Rarey’s Port building on Main Street
(above Delaney’s Diner).
“That space is proposed to be used as
the new location of KidSpace activities as
well as conference room space,” said King.
Another option to be considered is to
either donate or lease the KidSpace building
to American Legion Robert Dutro Post
486.
“We need a home base. We have not had
a permanent home,” said American Legion
Robert Dutro Post 486 Commander Josh
Saunders representing the 50 members of
the post, which currently meets at the
Madison Township Community Center.
The Post hopes to also use the building
as community space for events and blood
drives as well as space for satellite offices
for veterans assistance agencies. According
to members of the Post, this would make
veterans assistance more accessible to the
over 868 veterans and their families in the
Groveport, Canal Winchester and Madison
Township areas. The building has also
served as a voting location.
Saunders said the Post could have
repairs made to the building by obtaining
various grants.
“Taxpayers would not have to pay for
the repairs and it would give the building a
new lease on life,” said Saunders, who
added there would be no alcohol or gambling
on the premises. “We can save this
building that has been in the community
many years and have it keep serving the
community.”
Groveport Law Director Kevin Shannon
said if the city were to decide to lease the
building to the Post, details about who
would make repairs and perform ongoing
maintenance on the structure would need
to be specified.
Councilman Shawn Cleary said that if
the city decides to lease the building to the
Post that the city “should not put a dime
into it” for repairs.
Councilman Jack Rupp said he would
like to see city officials explore other
options in town besides the KidSpace
building as a potential home for the Post.
Council President Ed Dildine said he
respects veterans organizations, but the
ability to enhance public parking in the
historic downtown outweighs keeping the
KidSpace building.
“I think we can find somewhere in town
for a home for the veterans group,” said
Dildine. “We have space, but KidSpace is
not it. Downtowns die from a lack of parking.
If we want businesses to thrive we
need parking. I like to look at the big picture
of what is needed for the entire community.
There has to be a compromise
somewhere to find a home for the veterans
group.”
The KidSpace building also includes two
public art works — a mural on an interior
wall depicting Groveport during the 19th
century Ohio and Erie Canal era and a
Groveport Elementary School student art
project on an exterior wall.
Council will most likely vote on the
issue at its April 8 meeting at 6:30 p.m. in
the municipal building, 655 Blacklick St.
Once upon a time, the stories in books
and movies were filled with meek young
women, usually a princess or royal of some
sort, trapped in a bad situation. Sad, alone,
and defenseless, she would sit atop her
tower and wait for a strapping man to
come and save her, whisking her off to a
happily ever after.
Nowadays, the stories in books and
movies are filled with subversions to the
old fairy tale cliché of the damsel in distress.
Rather than conveying a message
that one should sit around and wait to be
saved, they encourage the bright young
lasses to pick up a sword (literal or
metaphorical) and fight to control their
own destiny. Although these stories have
become something of a cliché in and of
themselves, it is never a bad thing to be
reminded that one can use their wit and
skill to get out of situations they do not
want to be in. The latest offering of this
worthy message comes from Netflix and a
young star who knows something about
perseverance.
In the cheekily titled “Damsel,” Millie
Bobby Brown plays Elodie, the sweet and
kind elder daughter of Lord Bayford (Ray
Winstone). She presides over a community
in which there is not enough to go around;
the harsh landscape makes the ground less
fertile and her subjects often struggle to
find enough food or heat. To try to make up
for the lack, she scavenges the forest for
food and lumber to make sure that her
family and her people do not starve or
freeze to death.
Living in such a barren place can make
one desperate, which is why her father is
so willing to turn her over to a suitor from
a faraway land. “They are offering us food
and riches beyond our dreams,” Lord
Bayford tells his daughter. Despite her
reluctance to marry — she wants nothing
more than to sail the high seas in search of
a grand adventure — she is willing to do so
because of her loyalty to her family and to
her people.
Elodie is immediately struck by her new
home; the air is warm and clean, the land
is fertile and bountiful, and the homes and
palaces are wrapped in luxury. The only
thing more impressive is the fact that her
suitor, Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) is
close to her age, handsome, and has a full
head of lush hair.
The only thing that truly gives Elodie
and her stepmother pause is the fierce
Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) who is regal
and remote, rebuffing any attempt at
friendship from either pair. Lady Bayford
tells Elodie she does not have to go through
with the marriage, but the young woman
knows what she must do: wed, start a family,
and perhaps work toward a happily
ever after with her handsome but bland
husband-to-be.
After the wedding, Elodie is taken to the
mountainside where a strange ceremony is
being conducted. The
guests are all adored
with masks a la “Eyes
Wide Shut” and her
mother-in-law stands
at the altar with a dagger
that is to be used to
mix the blood of the
newlyweds. Although
Elodie is unsure and a
little freaked out at
www.columbusmessenger.com
“Damsel” is a mix of
Cinderella and “Die Hard”
The Reel Deal
Dedra
Cordle
Oftentimes while watching
“Damsel,” I found myself wishing that it
could have had a traditional theatrical
release, because the settings are
filled with enticing details that bolster
some of the weaknesses of the
screenplay and story.
this point, she goes with the flow, trusting
her husband and new family to do right by
her. But then Prince Henry sweeps her off
her feet and casually throws her into a
chasm where a fire-breathing dragon with
a big grudge against the royal family of
Aurea awaits.
Up until this point, this movie was looking
more like “Damsel: Cinderella” than
anything else. But when she is thrown into
the lair it turns into “Damsel: Die Hard” as
Elodie tries to escape from the exceptionally
well-designed dragon, played with great
menace by the smoky voiced Shohreh
Aghdashloo. At times, it often has the feel of
a video game where Elodie faces one obstacle
after another, making some progress but
not enough. Brown is on her own for a long
stretch of time, and she is quite effective at
alternating fear and determination, using
wit and skill to try to survive the dragon
lurking around every dark corner.
The one major complaint I had about
this dark fantasy written by Dan Mazeau
and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is
that it does not feel as if there are any
stakes at play. Although the heroine is
being stalked and harmed by a dragon, we
know that no real harm will come to her so
it lacks that urgency and investment needed
to sell a fantasy.
Oftentimes while watching “Damsel,” I
found myself wishing that it could have
had a traditional theatrical release,
because the settings are filled with enticing
details that bolster some of the weaknesses
of the screenplay and story. But
even on the smaller screen, the female-led
and rage-filled take on the traditional fairy
tale is ultimately worthy of a watch.
“Damsel” is now streaming on Netflix.
Grade: B-
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer
and columnist.