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Kathryn Miller
Leavenworth
To the editor:
The Leavenworth Preservation Commission is of a group of volunteer citizens who care for this community and its history, but it couldn’t have been more wrong in deciding against the First United Methodist Church’s wish to raze the old East Middle School building.
The old school building holds no historical status. The architects of the school have created some wonderful buildings in the area that are now historically protected, but the school building is not one of them. The question of whether or not to tear down the old school building was brought before the Preservation Commission only because it lies within a 500 foot radius of three historically designated buildings: the County Courthouse, the Carnegie Arts Center, and the First Presbyterian Church. The commission was asked to determine if tearing down the old school would have an irreversible detrimental impact on these three historic buildings.
Because of the permanence of a demolition, the commission decided against razing the building and suggested that the church could use the old school as part of its expansion plans. Unfortunately for the church, an organization which relies on donations for funding, there were no financial incentives to go along with the suggestion because monies are not available for maintaining or upgrading properties in historic environs.
The First United Methodist Church has been in Leavenworth for more than 150 years and, according to the Leavenworth Times, on the same spot for 98 years. It is an organization of historic significance to this community and should be treated as such. Its members are descendants of people who helped to build Leavenworth. One can hardly believe that they would replace the old school building with something detrimental to the historic significance of the area, particularly with the restrictions placed upon them by the Historic Preservation Ordinance and the Arterial Appearance Overlay District supplement to the zoning ordinance.
The citizens of Leavenworth can confidently abide by the church member’s decisions about what to do with their property.
I hope the First United Methodist Church appeals the Preservation Commission’s recommendation to the City Commission and, in doing so, that the City Commission agrees that the historic value in this situation is the continued life and spirit of the people of the church, not an empty school building that is too expensive for any organization to remodel or maintain.
Kathryn Miller
Leavenworth
To the editor:
The Leavenworth Preservation Commission is of a group of volunteer citizens who care for this community and its history, but it couldn’t have been more wrong in deciding against the First United Methodist Church’s wish to raze the old East Middle School building.
The old school building holds no historical status. The architects of the school have created some wonderful buildings in the area that are now historically protected, but the school building is not one of them. The question of whether or not to tear down the old school building was brought before the Preservation Commission only because it lies within a 500 foot radius of three historically designated buildings: the County Courthouse, the Carnegie Arts Center, and the First Presbyterian Church. The commission was asked to determine if tearing down the old school would have an irreversible detrimental impact on these three historic buildings.
Because of the permanence of a demolition, the commission decided against razing the building and suggested that the church could use the old school as part of its expansion plans. Unfortunately for the church, an organization which relies on donations for funding, there were no financial incentives to go along with the suggestion because monies are not available for maintaining or upgrading properties in historic environs.
The First United Methodist Church has been in Leavenworth for more than 150 years and, according to the Leavenworth Times, on the same spot for 98 years. It is an organization of historic significance to this community and should be treated as such. Its members are descendants of people who helped to build Leavenworth. One can hardly believe that they would replace the old school building with something detrimental to the historic significance of the area, particularly with the restrictions placed upon them by the Historic Preservation Ordinance and the Arterial Appearance Overlay District supplement to the zoning ordinance.
The citizens of Leavenworth can confidently abide by the church member’s decisions about what to do with their property.
I hope the First United Methodist Church appeals the Preservation Commission’s recommendation to the City Commission and, in doing so, that the City Commission agrees that the historic value in this situation is the continued life and spirit of the people of the church, not an empty school building that is too expensive for any organization to remodel or maintain.
