: Message View
| Date Received: | 7/2/2023 8:04:04 PM |
| To: | David Pyne |
| Cc: | Russell, Jertoyia |
| From: | Book, Edwin A |
| Subject: | Re: [EXTERNAL] Thelma Boltin Center |
| Attachments: | |
| Message: |
David Pyne, I want to thank you for the feedback & the bit of history about your experiences with Thelma Boltin. Both before & after discussing Thelma Boltin options, we received a large amount of emails that have had varied views related to Thelma Boltin though there was no consensus. We voted previously as a City Commission for the partial restoration option, 1 of 4 presented. Importantly, this was the option recommended by the Historic Preservation Advisory Board. This option also increases programmable space. The figure for full restoration was higher & uncertain. One statement I made was for the reuse of as many materials as possible & for the construction to attempt to recreate as much as possible the "look" & "feel" of the current structure. I appreciate you sharing Ms Barr's letter. I value her significant expertise & insight also. There has been significant evaluation completed & I know that before I took office, aspects of the Thelma Boltin center were discussed over the last few years. Here is the link to the backup information provided at the City Commission meeting a few months ago if you'd like to review. There are several attachments, studies, & presentation materials. And here is the video / minutes from that meeting if you'd like to hear the input from everyone who spoke that day. Monies to pay for this can be appropriately allocated from Wild Spaces Public Places & it will likely occur across two budget cycles, not out of one year (though I recognize the costs are still substantial). Again, I appreciate you weighing in. Ed Book City Commissioner From: David Pyne <dpyne@asrsystems.ws> Sent: Sunday, July 2, 2023 12:30 PM To: citycomm <citycomm@gainesvillefl.gov> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Thelma Boltin Center City Commissioners:
We urge your support for structural repairs and restoration of the Thelma Boltin Center. In our opinion, the plan to save two walls but otherwise demolish it and construct a new, larger building is not in the best financial or other interests of the City of Gainesville. This is a historic structure. The City’s recent removal of the historic marker sign does not make it less historic. Attached is a summary of the building’s history, prepared by local resident Melanie Barr.
My wife, Emily W. Black, and I have lived in Gainesville since the middle 1960’s and in the Duckpond area since 1977. We have attended several local events at the Center, including voting there until it was recently closed as a voting precinct. From 1977 to 2019 we owned and restored the historic property across the street from the Center at 416 NE 2nd Avenue that pre-dates 1909, so had many opportunities to observe and/or participate in recreational and cultural events at the Center, many of which were quite lively. Emily served on the City Plan Board for many years, and I served on a City Advisory Committee for Water Management. Emily was an early President of Historic Gainesville at a time when the Duckpond area was first recognized as a National Historic District. Immediately prior to that national recognition, many older buildings were demolished by their owners in anticipation of increased building and zoning restrictions. The City at that time was considering a plan to pave over the Duckpond and create a beltway around downtown Gainesville, so local property values had been steadily declining. Now the property values are approximately ten times what they were when the Duckpond area was first recognized as a National Historic District. Also at that same time the School Board rezoned Kirby Smith Elementary School so that it had insufficient number of students so that they could justify closing it as a school and converting it, at substantial cost, to the School Board office building which it is today. That was a significant loss to young families living in, or considering moving to, the Duckpond neighborhood and surrounding residential area.
My wife and I are both registered professional (civil) engineers. We understand that the building has some structural issues, suggesting to us that somewhere there exists a report by a structural engineer regarding the structural deficiencies and what would be necessary for their resolution. We would welcome the opportunity to review that report. If it exists only as a hard copy, we suggest that a phone call to me at 352 215 0319 to agree on a place and time, and I will be pleased to pay a visit to review the document. If it more likely exists as an electronic copy, a return email with the attachment would be appreciated.
We understand that structural stabilization of the existing building would cost about $450,000 while constructing a new building would cost about $5.6 million, representing two-thirds of the available funding from Wild Spaces and Public Places (WSPP) for the 2023 Fiscal Year. A commitment to structural stabilization and restoration would more likely attract additional sources of funding that are available for historic preservation. City Commissioners should make a wise decision to accept the least cost option and rescind the previous vote to demolish and replace the Thelma Boltin Center. The City has a whole lot of needs and can make much better use of the limited available WSPP funds.
Thank you for your consideration.
R. David G. Pyne, P.E. 540 NE 5th Avenue Gainesville FL 32601 352 215 0319
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