Georgetown arts groups are banding together to develop a pilot art center program, which if successful could be moved to the police department building at 809 Martin Luther King Jr. St. after the building is vacated in 2014.

The pilot program, if approved, would be a partnership between the city and nonprofit arts organizations, Georgetown Public Library Director Eric Lashley said. This art center would be housed in the historic firehouse at 816 S. Main St. after the Georgetown Fire Department's Administration and Operations offices move to Fire Station No. 5 this summer.

"The ultimate goal is for the city to find out if an art center can be successful in Georgetown," Lashley said.

Jane Estes, community organizer for the Friends of the Arts in Georgetown and a board member of Georgetown Art Works, said the pilot program would include an art gallery and programs.

"The idea is to start a pilot program, with gallery space, a meeting room, classroom space and possibly hold events in that space," she said. "[We would] do that for a year and see how it goes as a test program and hopefully grow that over the next three to four years so that when the police station is vacated, when the public safety facility is built, then the art center can move into that space."

Lashley is developing a business plan for the program, which will go before the Arts and Culture Board on Jan. 17. If approved, the proposal will go before City Council. Under the proposal, the library would manage the art center, and the arts groups would provide volunteers to operate the center for the first year, Lashley said. The city would retain ownership of the building.

Lashley said various arts organizations have advocated creating an art center in Georgetown for years, and promoting arts and culture is part of the city's 2030 Comprehensive Plan.