Letter to the editor: Preservation of the Kasson School building

Letter To the Editor:

I have been following with great interest the situation concerning the preservation of the Kasson School building. I have not lived in Kasson for many years, so I know that I have no say in the outcome.  However, as Kasson is my home town... where I grew up, I feel that I can at least offer my opinions. 

There are many reasons for saving fine old buildings such as this. We should value our heritage, and protect our history. And frankly, tearing down a building in such good shape, just to have something shiny & new, is incredibly wasteful.

But these are not the arguments I present here against the destruction of this building. I understand that people will have differences of opinion on these issues, and may not value our history as much as I do.  I’m sure that there are many current residents of Kasson who did not spend their youth in the classrooms of this building, whose fathers did not play for basketball championships in the Gym, and whose grandfathers did not sit through many what I’m sure were interminable school board meetings there. I understand that.  Instead, I will argue that the destruction of this building goes against the long term economic interests of Kasson. 

The City of Kasson has an opportunity.  An opportunity that most cities of its size can only dream of. You have this huge, impressive, remarkably well-preserved facility in the middle of town, with so much potential. It doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to think of countless uses for this building. (Retail shops, the library, service businesses, a community center, apartments, a senior center, etc, etc).  It does however require vision and the type of forward-thinking that I hope the leaders of the City of Kasson possess. Given the correct mix of public use and private investment, this building can and should be utilized for the betterment of the community. I see no reason why a proper mix of public and private use could not only pay for the continued maintenance of the building, but in addition, leases or private partnerships/investment could go a long way towards covering the costs for any public usage, such as a library, community center or other uses that would benefit the city. The building is plenty large enough to house multiple public and/or private enterprises. The city just needs the vision to realize the potential here. Yes, it would take work and short term investment by the city, but the long term returns seem obvious to me. Perhaps the city could even fund a small business incubator out of part of the building... in exchange for commitments from the successful tenants to open their businesses in Kasson...  think jobs!

The leaders of the City of Kasson have an obligation. An obligation to plan for the future prosperity of it’s residents and the community. In the past 30 years, Kasson has become more and more a bedroom community for Rochester. When I was growing up, there were three new automobile dealerships in Kasson... now there are none. There were three farm implement dealers... now there is one. There were at least three grocery stores... now there is one. There were eight or nine full service gas stations or auto repair shops... now there is one or two?   There were three hardware stores... now there is one. There was a men’s clothing store, a women’s clothing store and a shoe store... all gone. There was a music store... gone.  A furniture store... gone.  All of these businesses provided a tax base for the community, and a decent living for their owners; these businesses kept their families fed and sent their kids to school, and allowed them to spread their income within the community... which allowed the community to prosper. Now, I know there are many factors that caused these changes, and am not naive enough to think that saving and re-purposing this school building is going to magically restore all this.  But I do think that this would be a good place to start.  The city leaders have an obligation to consider the long term improvement of Kasson; to consider the use of this facility as an engine to kick-start Kasson’s economic future. Perhaps with the right uses and occupants, you could even get folks to drive from Rochester to Kasson to visit (as they do to Mantorville) instead of the other way around!

The City of Kasson has a choice.  It can utilize a large, multi-use existing building; an extremely well-built facility that has stood for almost 100 years; that with reasonable maintenance will be in just as good shape in another 100 years.  Or, it can knock it down, and build a much smaller, single-use facility.  One that (due to new building costs vs available funds, and current construction techniques) I guarantee will not still be in use 50 years from now; regardless of the maintenance done.  Short term, maybe you’ll save a bit of money, but if you think long term, it’s an easy choice.  The existing building is the clear winner.  It is my understanding that it will cost Kasson taxpayers at least $200,000 to demolish the school (and personally, I think it will be more than that). That money would be better used as funds to kick-start the process of reusing the building. Hire a professional to manage the project. Save this historical building and provide a venue for economic growth at the same time.
The leaders of the City of Kasson have a test.  Will you have the vision required to see the potential here? Will you be forward-thinking and plan for what is best for Kasson long term...  beyond next year?  Or will you just knock down this fine building, this great potential set piece for Kasson’s future?  Will you pass or fail this test?  If you fail, I believe that the next generations will look back with profound disappointment... not just for the loss of a big part of Kasson’s history, but also because of the wasted opportunities for economic growth and for the public good.

Mark Patterson
Eau Claire, WI