COMMISSION WILL SEND STATE, NATIONAL LETTERS OPPOSING DEMOLITION

The Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday voted to notify the regional and national headquarters of the Salvation Army of its opposition to demolition plans for the local Salvation Army building.

The building, at 701 Good Hope, is slated to be razed to make room for a new facility near the site.

Commissioner John Schneider said he was prepared to send a letter to the regional and national offices, although he thought the effort might be futile.

"I don't have any particular happiness in sending the letter, but I certainly want them to know how the commission feels," he said.

Although other commissioners said they've been accused of "butting in" where they have no authority, they agreed it was part of the group's mission to try to preserve buildings of historical importance.

Commissioner John Layton said he talked to a city council member who told him the city's historic preservation law "plainly states these applications clearly ought to be at the request of the property owner."

But Schneider contended that although application for the designation of a local landmark comes from individual property owners, the ordinance clearly states the commission's obligation to bring before the public all matters regarding preservation of historical structures.

City Planner Kent Bratton agreed. He encouraged the group to send the letter, because the issue isn't necessarily closed. "You never know what tomorrow will bring," he said.

"Send a letter saying that if there is a change in circumstances that you'd be willing to work with them on preserving the structure."

In March, shortly after the Salvation Army embarked on a $1 million capital campaign for the new structure, the commission passed a resolution in opposition to the plan citing the building's historical importance.

The building formerly housed the Farmers & Merchants Bank and is the only surviving bank building from its era in the city.

Capt. Elmer Trapp of the Salvation Army has said the church initially wanted to renovate the building, but that the cost was excessive and that a survey of the community indicated residents favored a new structure.

Trapp also has said he's surprised the commission objects to the plans now, more than a year after the Salvation Army stated its intentions to raze the site.

But commissioner Martha Bender said Monday that when the project to demolish the building was first announced last year, the commission was only recently formed and not organized.

In other business, Judith Deel and Steve Mitchell of the Missouri Historic Preservation Program attended the meeting and discussed the possibility of a grant to help fund survey work in the city.

As part of its responsibilities, the commission will survey the city to determine which structures might have historical significance.

Mitchell said up to 70 percent of the cost of the survey work would be funded by the state through the grant program. He said the survey would provide background data on structures that individual property owners could use if they were interested in applying for the National Register of Historic Places.

Students in Southeast Missouri State University's historical preservation department surveyed part of the "downtown" area several years ago, and Mitchell said the new survey could "fill in the gaps" left in the previous work.

He also said a city-wide project, which might be expensive, would be done in phases or a number of years.