10/08/07 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETINGOCTOBER 8, 2007 done. He reiterated that in rehabilitating older schools they have found them to be far more economical than new construction. He hopes that he will be able to address these issues during the walkthrough of Marquette Primary Center. When schools are rehabilitated or landmarks the majority of the money stays within the community, like craftsman and local businesses as compared to buying new items that are purchased from far away in the State or Out-of-State. Rehabilitating landmarks and schools in general are inherently green and sustainable; these are two words that he hears typically on a regular basis. But being able to save a school saves tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline and embodied energy. The other thing that is important is the sense of place. Marquette School has been here for a long time a lot of people have gone to this fine institution it is part of the neighborhood. His experience in Chicago and across the country has shown and taught that rehabilitation of older schools make economic sense, they are able to provide if not only the exact same standards if not greater standards in older schools than in new schools, make them more energy efficient, great places of learning and inherently green. Ms. Hostetler handed out the letter dated June 8, 2007 from BauerLotoza Studio regarding Marquette Primary Center and a letter Dated October 8, 2007 from Kenneth P. Herceg, P.E.,L.S., President, Ken Herceg & Associates, Inc. This concluded the formal presentation. The following individuals spoke in favor of this bill: Mr. Ryan Dvorak, 215 W. Northshore, South Bend, Indiana, spoke in favor of this bill th and stated that he is the State Representative for the 8 District which includes Marquette School. He stated that he was asked by some of his constituents that live in the neighborhood of Marquette School to speak on behalf and in favor of the designation of a Historic Landmark for Marquette School. The neighbors are concerned that they are going to lose this piece of their community. Marquette is not a gem of the world, but it is unique to the community. It is a symbol of what South Bend had gone through the depression, the generation of students who have attended school there and the residents of the neighborhood who have been able use it as a focus point for their community. These kinds of treasures of the community need to be kept in tact. Tearing them down to make something more like a suburban strip mall, isn’t something that South Bend would be good at or want to do. Where South Bend has its advantage is in maintaining its cultural and historical integrity and drawing in those people that really value that sense of community. He stated that we all know people who have left South Bend and Indiana and people who have lived in places that don’t have this kind of historical tradition and moved to a community like Tempe, Arizona, that looks exactly like the Grape Road area they left before. Those kinds of people don’t have a connection to their community. The great value that South Bend has is nurturing their culture and the neighborhoods places where people truly feel that they have a home and want to stay and build their lives and families as they grow older. Mr. Dvorak stated that on behalf of his constituents and people of the neighborhood he urged the Council favorable support for this bill. Ms. Martha Lewis, 308 S. Frances, South Bend, Indiana, spoke in favor of this bill. She stated that she is in favor of landmarking this school for one as a tax payer she believes that rehabbing this school is the best use of her tax dollars. Secondly, as a citizen that is a preservationist the value and lessons of architecture and history she feels cannot be duplicated in a new sanitized school. Finally, as a person who started out as a teacher, she remembers the best teaching experiences and the best learning opportunities were not in classrooms with the perfect amount of outlets or square footage, but where creativity, resourcefulness and pre-thinking abound. She noted that the children will be better served when given the gift of history and that is what landmarking will do. She further noted that she has a petition that she has started and filed with the Office of the City Clerk. Ms. Alisia Nagy, 310 Marquette, South Bend, Indiana, spoke in favor of this bill. She stated that she is a concerned citizen of South Bend who is very interested in the City after living the last seven years in Alexandria, Virginia. A place that is just full of architectural preservation. Row houses that were once considered for the very poorest 9