Agenda - Economic Development Authority - 06/10/2021

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Sustaining Our Legacy The Future of Ramsey Town Hall PREVIOUS PRESERVATION IN RAMSEY PRESERVATION HISTORY In 1977, the newly incorporated City of Ramsey moved its municipal offices to a new building on Nowthen Boulevard. At that time, there was some interest in restoring the Old Town Hall to its schoolhouse glory. Based on our archival research, however, it appears that this preservation effort has produced very little success. TIMELINE OF PRESERVATION WORK: What went wrong? INACTION 14 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT RAMSEY The Old Town Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Fifteen years later, the city secured a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) for restoration, which it matched with local funds. Work got underway in 1996, but was halted soon after. The matching funds were reallocated and some of the grant money was returned to MHS. • The City was not interested in spending grant money. INERTIA During the 1980s and 1990s, historically minded residents regularly had their say in City Council meetings and letters to city hall. Despite this, there does not seem to have been much political interest in doing anything significant with the old building. • The City was not interested in working with its citizens. INDIFFERENCE The arrival of the Northstar Commuter Rail and the COR initiative in 2012 saw plans to move the building to this exciting transit -oriented development. This was more problematic than it appeared, as posters 10 and 11 will show. • The City was not interested in including the building in its flagship development. Application for National Register, 1979 erMilltfaititit RESTORATiOH PROJECT ANUi4A COUNTY HISIQRICAE S t1Y NORTH STAR FEDERA1E4 VIOXE11S CEO Work sign for most recent restoration, 1996 proposed siting in the COR, 2012 All of which leads us to the obvious, unasked question: WHY NOT JUST KNOCK IT DOWN? Over the years, as tepid preservation efforts have come and gone, the obvious question keeps coming back: Why not demolish the building and be done with it? Well... • The building is an irreplaceable historical asset in a community that has precious few of them. • This is perhaps the most iconic symbol of Ramsey's rural heritage, a heritage of which the city is very proud and protective. • Although no preservation project is cheap, demolition costs money, too, and in the process destroys an asset that could be turned into a revenue generator as well as a source of local pride. Enthusiasm for restoring the Old Town Hall has been intermittent at best over the past forty years. How could things have gone differently? In the next poster, we look at one way to ensure that historic buildings are respected and preserved. PA5211: Land Use Planning / Instructor: Fernando Burga PhD. Mary Cutrufello, Katriona Molasky, Amy Van Gessel to still MI' of D.i,., w w......