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Spring Hill Year in Review, #5: Residents trying to save building PDF Print E-mail
News - Spring Hill
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 31 December 2008 08:00
The crumbling former Spring Hill Elementary School building has been a major topic of city council discussion since June, when officials began trying to decide what, if anything they could do with the building.

A structural analysis had shown nearly $232,000 would be needed to rehabilitate the building enough to make it structurally sound.

The building has been a concern as far back as the mid-1990s, according to an Aug. 8, 2000, memo by then City Administrator Micki Healy. In the memo to Spring Hill Historical Society members, Healy said architects had advised in 1995 that the city should demolish the building because it would cost more for renovation than was financially prudent for the city to spend.

In late 1998, the city council directed staff to seek other options. Healy later suggested looking at ways to save the building. Then, in 2000, Healy talked about pursuing placement of the building on the Kansas Register of Historic Places and a grant to restore it for use as a museum, since it is the oldest public building in Spring Hill.

No renovation plans ever came to fruition and, in late 2008, the city council passed a resolution to take bids for demolition of the old building.

A group of Spring Hill residents seeking to the preserve the old school began lobbying city officials to save and renovate it.

Spring Hill Mayor Mark Squire said he would like to see the building preserved for its historic, architectural, and sentimental value to the community.

“It would be good to keep it in the city’s inventory,” he said.

City Administrator Jon Roberts said the preservation group met with the city council during its Dec. 18 meeting, at which time the council decided to table its decision until Jan. 22.
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