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Timothy_Klusczinski, President, Historic Preservation Commission _- Sep._ 17 2012 _page 10 <br />d. The Library's taxpayers and citizens of St. Joseph County, IN, who saw, through <br />public meetings, public posted agendas, and the Library's Capital Improvement <br />plans approved by the Library Board in several open meetings since the Main <br />Library Schematic Design plan was approved on September 24, 2007, which plan <br />has been available on the Library's website for the past five years, stating that the <br />Library fully intended to demolish the Strand/Avon Theatre building to create the <br />space needed along Michigan Street for its future new Main Library building. <br />e. There are even postings on the Internet under Cinema Treasures, a long-time blog <br />for those who love the cinema, that indicate that people knew the Avon was to be <br />demolished. This appeared on its blog on October 16, 2008: "The current plan for <br />the AVON Theatre building is for the South Bend Public Library, in the same block. <br />Will purchase the building and raze it along with surrounding buildings for an <br />expansion and parking garage facility. The plan has been delayed currently due to <br />funding issues within local government tax roles. You can read about some of these <br />plans in the public report." <br />Nothing about the Library's plans and its intention to demolish the Strand/Avon Theatre <br />were in any way hidden from the public, from the press, or from any elected officials or City <br />department. All knew that the Library intended to demolish the Avon Theatre and knew this <br />as early as March 2007 when the Avon Theatre building was purchased from Downtown <br />South Bend, Inc. by the St. Joseph County Public Library. <br />The Library went out of its way to make the future demolition of the Strand/Avon Theatre <br />known to the City of South Bend, Downtown South Bend, and the general public. This <br />information and the plans to demolish the Avon were known to all parties involved as early <br />as February 2007 when the Library was negotiating the sale of the property with Downtown <br />South Bend. The demolition was later clearly specified in the final Schematic Design plans <br />to demolish the Avon building, plans that could be easily accessed by anyone with access to <br />the Internet and the Library's web pages. Those plans have been available for downloading <br />from the Library website for the past five years. The Library's financial plan for financing <br />this project as well as detailed drawings and demolition plans for the 300 block of Michigan <br />Street all the way from West Wayne Street to Western Avenue have been available for <br />anyone's viewing and reading on the Library's website since September 24, 2007 when the <br />Library Board approved those Schematic Designs in an open public Library Board meeting. <br />The Schematic Design Report clearly indicates with numbered photos all of the buildings on <br />S. Michigan Street and on W. Wayne Street that the Library intended to demolish. The <br />Avon is building #16 on page 4 and page 6 and image #13 on page 5 with the bold print <br />caption on that page of "Buildings To Be Demolished". These Schematic Design plans for <br />the new building show no evidence of the former Strand/Avon Theatre on pages 10, 11, and <br />12 where the floor plans for the new Main Library's three levels are laid out. Nor does the <br />Strand/Avon Theatre appear in the elevation drawings of the new Main Library for the front <br />of Michigan Street on page 18 of the Schematic Design plans; nor in the renderings of the <br />face of the new Main Library that appear on pages 22, 23, 24, 25, or 29. The General Project <br />Narrative on page 36 and the General Description on page 36 do not even mention the <br />Strand/Avon Theatre as part of the new building, nor is it mentioned in any of the estimates <br />Recipient of the 2009 Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence <br />www.libra-rvforlife-.org <br />