County legislators on Wednesday indicated a willingness to sell or lease a small parcel of land next to the Senior Center building on Bank Street, Batavia, to GO ART! for the creation of an art garden.
Gregory Hallock, director of GO ART!, presented the concept at a Ways and Means Committee meeting and the committee unanimously approved a letter of support.
The letter is necessary to help secure a potential grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, which provided funds for the Musical Garden that opened this summer in the walkway next to Seymore Place.
Hallock said the art garden will be space for art displays, concerts, classes, flowers, and a place to grow herbs and vegetables for use in the GO ART! kitchen.
He said the garden could also help generate revenue for GO ART! as a place to host weddings and for culinary events as well as concerts.
The small lot in question is already a garden accessible only by the Senior Center that is barely used by the Office for the Aging.
Besides a connection to Seymore Place and the Musical Garden, the art garden would also fit nicely, Hallock said, with the Healthy Living Campus being developed by UMMC and the YMCA.
Hallock said both UMMC and the YMCA have signed off on the project and through discussions, leaders there realized that GO ART! is a natural fit for what they're planning with the Healthy Living Campus so GO ART! will be included more in future planning discussions.
