Larger turnout at second '22 hearing

By Tom Westman
Staff Writer

The Annandale School Board held the second of two hearings, concerning the fate of the 1922 wing of Annandale Middle School on Monday, Oct. 29, which drew more people than the first - 10 area residents requesting to be heard.

Speaking at the hearing were Dick Naaktgeboren, Jill Bishop, Barb Lundberg, Rose Mary Nelson, Laura Hood Beckman, Judy Johnson, Mary Meuwissen Nowak, Mary Barkley Brown, Vickie Morgan and Warren Triplett. Most of the residents that addressed the board were asking for more time to save the 1922 building and find a use for it.

"Two weeks ago I stood here and my message to you was to be open to the possibility of a solution and not proceed with the assumption that demolition is a foregone conclusion and for the school board to be part of the process of looking for a way to use the building," said Jill Bishop, who has taken a leadership role in the effort.

The Annandale School Board held the two public hearings concerning two school buildings no longer needed by the district. The two buildings in question are the 1922 portion of the middle school building and the building across the street from it, now occupied by Community Education at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Cherry Avenue. The district has said that once the new elementary school opens in the fall of 2013, these two buildings will no longer be needed.

A plan to get a plan

Bishop has been in contact with Barbara Howard from the State Historic Preservation Office, which is a branch of the Minnesota History Center. Bishop indicated that Howard has started steps towards getting a re-use study for Annandale.

According to SHPO's 'A Primer for Historic Properties Reuse Teams in Minnesota' SHPO "has had good results through working with communities and local citizens to conduct studies of vacant, threatened, and under-used historic properties in order to identify a range of potential new uses."

According to Bishop, re-use studies of threatened historic properties explore new uses for the buildings by assembling a group of experts that engage in an orderly, informed process to help decide the property's future. There is however, no guarantee that the property would be saved. Re-use studies cost between $5,000 and $14,000, with funds coming from grants or local donations.

The study takes up to eight months: one to two months to get the study started; an on-site phase that takes three to five days; and two to four months for compiling data and writing a report. The re-use team includes design professionals, marketing specialists, building construction specialists and conservation specialists.

Must meet the criteria

The SHPO may co-sponsor a re-use study if the property meets these five criteria:

■ The property must be threatened, vacant, or underused.

■ It must be listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

■ A unit of government, public agency or nonprofit organization must own it.

■ A local sponsor must provide funding.

■ The local sponsor must be willing to implement the plan.

The Annandale Community Team (ACT) would be the fiscal agent, with all donations going through that local organization. According to Bishop, the second criteria, being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, might be a problem for the effort if Annandale wanted SHPO help with the study.

"At the very least, getting it listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, would take more time," Bishop said.

Bishop and others are exploring other options that would not involve the National Register of Historic Places.

"There are other certified groups that could do the study," Bishop said.

Asking the board for time

Bishop and a group of people that support her efforts want the board to give the group the time - about eight months - to complete the re-use study; before the School Board decides to demolish the 1922 building.

"At this time we are asking that at the Nov. 26 school board meeting, you decide to hold off the demolition process and be a part of the Re-use Team as they seek a solution to finding a use for this historic building, long neglected, but structurally sound," Bishop said. "Demolition will rob future generations of this treasure. There may be a way to save it, please be a part of the process."

As expected, the board did not respond to the comments at the hearing. It is expected that they will have a response at the Monday, Nov. 26, board meeting.