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neighborhood associations for their meet- ings and other events. "There is a great lack of civic meeting space in the city," said Kate Lowman, board member of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association. "We used to meet here, but then the city wanted to charge us and we couldn't afford it." H e r c o m m e n t s w e r e e c h o e d b y P a t Kolodgy, former president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association, which sponsored the park's grand opening in 2007. "Right now nobody knows what it looks like in here, and it's beautiful," she said, adding that opening up the building for neighborhood civic meet- ings could lead to spreading the word that the auditorium is available for public use. Kucharski suggested a benefactor might arise to donate money for the restoration of the auditorium in return for naming rights. Recently, the city accepted a donation for playground equipment and an endowment for maintenance in return for renaming the park under the eastern side of the John Ringling Causeway Bridge. % City staff conducts a 'visioning meeting' on the Payne Park Auditorium in early December 2013. Photo by Stan Zimmerman A City of Sarasota historic marker explains part of Payne Park's Major League Baseball role in the community decades ago. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader July 25, 2014 Page 57