Archived Story
County must look at every opportunity
Published 12:09am Sunday, August 12, 2012A popular mantra in the real estate business is, “Location. Location. Location.” It is a consideration which the Lawrence County Commissioners may need to weigh very carefully.
The commissioners would be wise to fully look at all the options before committing to the massive undertaking associated with renovating Memorial Hall to use as the base for the county’s emergency services.
The county has been eyeing funding opportunities for the Memorial Hall project for several months, although some have recently fallen through.
But a new alternative was formally presented last week when the Ironton Board of Education offered to sell the former post office building to the county for one-tenth the cost.
The building, located right next door to the jail and across the street from the courthouse, makes a lot of sense for the county. Even if the county didn’t want to restore or renovate the building now, the property alone could be useful in years to come for possible jail expansion or other county offices.
The county commissioners must decide on its primary focus. Is it historic preservation or providing services to the citizens in the most efficient and economical way?
Although the sentiment to do both at the same time is certainly an admirable one, the reality is it simply may not be possible.
This isn’t to say that Memorial Hall can’t or shouldn’t be saved. The building has lots of history, as evidenced by a story in today’s newspaper, and holds a soft spot in the hearts of many Irontonians. This is why Lawrence County needs a dedicated non-profit, non-governmental organization focused on historic preservation. This entity could lead the way and partner with government rather than projects being solely driven by entities funded by the taxpayers.
Until that happens, the county is smart to move forward with its plans to consider all options, but clearly defining its goals has to be part of the discussion.
Members of the group had hoped to receive a grant from the federal government for $2.4 million over the course of 10 years, said Tom McClain, a trustee of the Veterans Memorial Hall Restoration Fund, a nonprofit founded for the purpose of the restoration. Besides McClain, two other members of the American Legion Post 433 are also trustees of the fund. In order to get that grant, the nonprofit had to own the building, he said.
McClain said the organization raised about $20,000 toward the restoration, minus the cost of advertisements and some other materials.
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total, now approx., 370,000.
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While we’re at it, as a veteran I and my brother gave money to veterans associations towards saving memorial hall. Where is that money?
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Tribune and Mikehaney; Excellent comments. My compliments.
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Board of Education should sell their bldg to the county for their price of 350,000 and then turn the money over for seed money to the preservation of memorial hall.
All of these bldgs belong to the tax payers!!
If the money does not end up going towards memorial hall, all the politicians can someday fight over it.
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