Iolan Jerod Franklin had an observation that shouldn’t be overlooked in zeal to upgrade schools. Or for that matter, in the vast improvement in health care brought about by construction of the new Allen County Regional Hospital. NO ONE KNOWS today what the recommendation for school improvements will be — one campus housing all, a single elementary, a combination of learning opportunities — or what site might be proposed.
Franklin, 30, wondered what will become of the old hospital, or school buildings if new construction occurred.
Good questions. Unfortunately, today they have no definite answers.
Allen County commissioners are as eager as anyone to find a use for the abandoned hospital.
It is county property, and as such commissioners are obligated to keep it from deteriorating. That entails having a maintenance employee visit the structure several times a week and also keeping utilities connected.
County Counselor Alan Weber said a few months ago an out-of-town developer might be interested in the hospital sometime this year, though no thoughts about what might become of it were mentioned. He also has been contacted by a company that specializes in razing such buildings.
It would be a shame if the hospital were salvaged and the property left a patch of grass. We probably have enough green space in town, with removal of homes in south Iola after the flood of 2007.
The hospital is built like a bunker and would seem to be in no danger of tumbling down, but that same structural integrity probably is a factor in how it might be used. Patient rooms are too small for anything but, well, patient rooms. Refitting for some sort of habitation might not be cost-effective.
There certainly must be some use out there. Let’s hope commissioners happen onto it before they lose patience and order a wrecking ball.
In several small communities hereabouts schools have been converted to community centers. Elsewhere, they have been recycled as apartments and even care centers for the elderly.
Those things might be possibilities, and a bit of brain-storming likely would identify many other uses.
When USD 257’s board members settle on a plan, a component should be what to do with schools abandoned. Franklin and other voters will want to know before they make a decision.
— Bob Johnson
Building anew has questions
