After three years of full-scale performances, meetings, and public and private events at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, city officials hope to take the next step in motivating citizens to become more involved in the arts.

Officials decided to create the Coralville Arts Commission, which will work with the arts center to further improve the performing-arts program.

“The commission supports not only the Center for the Performing Arts but the arts in general for Coralville,” said Sherri Proud, the director of Coralville Parks and Recreation.

The city started accepting applications this past month and will continue until Feb. 21. Three applicants must be Coralville residents, but residents from the greater Johnson County Area could fill the two other positions.

With the panel, Coralville will be able to maximize the facility and maintain the quality programming that citizens want to see.

“This will be an opportunity to guide policy, give feedback, be able to support the arts, and bring new ideas to the city of Coralville,” Proud said. “Increasing involvement is such an important part of being a vibrant community.”

The goal of the panel is to encourage the citizens of Coralville to become more involved. It wants to present opportunities for all types of residents of Coralville to become more involved in the community.

“It’s a lovely thing that the Coralville city government has recognized that the arts are such an important part of the community that they need advice from their citizens about public art,” said Karen Kubby, a co-owner of Beadology and former president of the Iowa City Downtown District.

However, there are no immediate plans to collaborate with Coralville’s commission, Kubby said.

Coralville Mayor John Lundell said by having people who are part of the Coralville community involved in the commission, and by better enhancing the art program, it will make the city and the residents much more well-rounded.

“Now that we have a facility to do this programming — musicals, plays, and everything else that goes on that stage — it is important to have a group of informed committee members to have them oversee,” he said.

The volunteers will meet around once a month to discuss ideas, expansions, as well as other details for further developing the arts in Coralville.

City officials said the ideal member of the commission is a volunteer who is highly knowledgeable and committed to expanding the arts.

“We want to maximize the use of that beautiful facility, and having a group of people who have some sort of expertise of the arts is beneficial,” Lundell said.