Building 26, located at The Ridges, came crumbling down during spring break, but the demolition was done without the approval from a university advisory committee.
Although Ohio University knew the demolition would cause controversy, it still went ahead with the plan.
This fact has angered area advocates, but OU did not break the law mandating the creation of the committee — it just hasn’t reconvened the committee that has not met since 1991.
The advisory committee, tasked with giving the community a voice, was not formally disbanded; it just stopped meeting.
The Ridges Advisory Committee, made up of university, city and county representatives that met between 1988 and 1991, was created by OU’s Board of Trustees to “review, comment and make recommendations on the comprehensive land use plan (for The Ridges),” according to a Board of Trustees resolution.
The committee and its role were mandated by an Ohio law passed in 1988 that gave OU ownership of most of The Ridges.
House Bill No. 576 of the 117th General Assembly states that the committee may “review the comprehensive land use plan … comment and make recommendations to the (Board of Trustees) on the (plan) … (and) review, periodically, progress on the implementation of the (plan).”
“The name of the game was to do what we considered to be the best we could do for what we later called The Ridges buildings,” said William Charles Culp, a committee member and director of OU’s Physical Plant at the time. “From my point of view, the committee did its job in terms of recommending to the (Board of Trustees) what to do and it was over.”
The land use plan, endorsed in 1989 by the committee and Board of Trustees, designated Building 26, more commonly known as the Beacon School or the tuberculosis ward, as one of the lowest-priority structures at The Ridges.
“The way I read it, (the committee members) can stop meeting if they want to and (start) meeting if they want to,” said Maria Haberman, a legislative aide to State Senator Lou Gentile (D-30).
Gentile’s office and State Representative Debbie Phillips’ (D-94) office both submitted requests to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission asking the role of the advisory committee.
The commission’s response states that since there is no statutory language in the Ohio law requiring the committee to meet or act, the group’s legality and purpose today are a matter for private legal counsel.
“I would hope they would look at this at some point and say this didn’t need to become the big issue that it became, and we could have done something different if we’d involved the community,” said Ron Luce, president of the Athens County Historical Society & Museum.
Associate Vice President for Facilities Harry Wyatt has stated publicly that when the demolition of Building 26 — costing OU $450,000 — is complete, OU will draw advice from various groups to form a new plan for The Ridges.
“When we begin the process of updating our master plan for The Ridges, we will invite participation and input from numerous organizations and entities, including the City of Athens, Athens County and the Athens Historical Society,” said Jennifer Kirksey, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis.
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said he remains optimistic OU will reach out to him and other officials for the Athens perspective on The Ridges, adding that he believes reappointing the committee might be useful.
“As the plan gets put together, we should probably have some input,” he said. “Advisory committees are advisory … but the more minds on it, the better.”
dd195710@ohiou.edu
