Ohio University’s Board of Trustees will not satisfy a request made by the Athens County Historical Society & Museum to discuss at trustee meetings the demolition of a building at The Ridges.
The historical society previously met with OU officials to request an alternative to demolishing Building 26, The Beacon School, which was built in 1924 and was used to house tuberculosis patients. When OU officials didn’t agree to the alternatives, the historical society contacted Peter Mather, board secretary, to discuss alternatives.
Mather responded that they would not be allowed to be listed on the board’s agenda and wouldn’t be able to speak out at the meetings.
“It would be very far-sighted to preserve a building we couldn’t replace now and restore it into something they could use,” said Jessica Cyders, curator and acting director of the Historical Society.
Though Mather said the museum representatives would not have a set opportunity to speak out at the Board of Trustees meeting, he said in an email he encourages them to make public statements.
“The Board approved the demolition of Building 26,” Mather said. “Consequently, there was no need to put (the museum representatives’ request to speak) on the agenda.”
The museum would like OU to mothball — or board up — the building, which would preserve it for about another 50 years, Cyders said.
“We have been in communication with the Historical Society and will continue to keep them apprised of the status of the project,” Mather said in an email.
The original demolition date was set prior to Halloween but was extended until the end of November. However, there is no firm demolition date set.
“I considered those things and discussed them with administrators,” said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities, in a conference call last week. “We determined that it was not enough to counterbalance the other concerns about safety. The university is continuing with its original plans.”
Museum staff and administration are planning on attending the Board of Trustee meetings.
“The rationale for not allowing the organization to speak is simply that the board had previously acted on this matter last spring and was comfortable that the administration had done its due diligence in taking into account the interests of the organization,” Mather said. “It is not customary for the board to provide this kind of forum in meetings. The board meets only 5 times a year, has responsibilities for the governance of a complex institution, and sometimes needs to make difficult decisions regarding the agenda.”
sj950610@ohiou.edu
