Task Force Tasked with Forming Confluence Board

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

Above: Where the magic happens, y'all.
Above: Where the magic happens, y'all.

An audacious, transformative plan is proposed. An elite task force is drawn together from diverse backgrounds to make the plan a reality. While that’s a tried-and-true action movie formula, it’s also a description of the step taken this week by the Eau Claire City Council to pave the way for the proposed Confluence Project. On Tuesday, the council approved the creation of a task force that will help choose the board overseeing the multiuse, public-private performing arts center in downtown Eau Claire. (That’s assuming, of course, that the center becomes a reality, which is still an open question). The so-called Confluence Council Task Force will be composed of two City Council members, two representatives of UW-Eau Claire, three representatives of local arts groups, one businessperson (as recommended by the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce), and one patron of the arts (as recommended by the Eau Claire Community Foundation).

City Council President Kerry Kincaid, who pushed for the task force, said the group is needed to form a road map for a future entity – the Confluence Council – that will actually oversee the Confluence Center, which will be owned by the university and a subsidiary of the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council. “It’s a unique opportunity to create this shared governance model that could be replicated throughout the state,” Kincaid said.

Yes, this is complex – and confusing – stuff, but it’s vital if the Confluence Project is to become reality. The public-private nature of the project’s funding, governance, and ownership will make it unique in the state, which is why the partners involved have spent so much time honing the details of how to form the Confluence Council – or, in this case, forming a task force to create the council. Kincaid said the City Council will choose two members for the task force next month, and that the other entities involved should choose their representatives in October as well. She hopes the task force can begin to meet by Nov. 1.