Several years ago I had a kitchen fire. Our fire department responded quickly and efficiently. My home was saved. I will always be grateful for these volunteers. State Center deserves to have a well-designed state-of-the-art facility that inspires and supports community safety. We deserve an amazing historic Opera House on Main Street. We can honor our ancestor’s investment in an opera house and provide a stunning office, training, and meeting space for the Fire Department.

We can have both, just as we do with the Police Department, the Public Library, and the Community Hall.

Our town can be proud of what we have come together to preserve. We have transformed many of the landmark buildings our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were proud of.

Places that hold memory and story for us create a ‘sense of place’. Our Main Street reflects who we are as a community. These original buildings convey a faith in the future. The scale and materials used are of irreplaceable quality and workmanship. They are something to be proud of in another hundred years. There are fewer of them around the state every day. We stand on the shoulders of those who saw the value in preserving Watson’s Grocery Store, won a Main Street Designation, and continue to work on place-making and community building. This honors what our ancestors built and creates a desirable place to live, raise a family, and drives economic development.

I was honored to be a grassroots organizer and the first director of the State Center Main Street program. This community sponsored me to attend numerous state and national training sessions during my five years in that position. I still take that seriously, learning and sharing as much as I can.

One thing I’ve learned is that economic development through historic preservation is the number one tool for community revitalization. One cannot put a price on the impact of community events like our Farmers Market, Old Fashioned Christmas on Main, and the many seasonal family activities. Our beautiful Gutekunst Library is an excellent example of an original building reflecting our culture and is wonderfully functional in its original perfect location.

I understand not every historic building can be saved, that is not the case with our Opera House. This is a well-maintained contributing building in our Historic District on the National Register. Of the 1,500 opera houses built in Iowa less than 130 still stand with only 13 on the National Register. Our opera house has seen Chautauquas, the Cherry Sisters arriving by train from Chicago, highschool graduations, and decades of service from the Masons and other service organizations.

What I don’t understand is how this irreversible decision to demolish a cultural treasure with National status can be made so quickly by so few. The chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission explained, with no solid evidence, no paperwork, no public data, a comparison of two options. The cost analysis of renovation is slightly less than the demolition option and we will not be using Federal Tax credits, which can fund up to 45% of the renovation, or looking into any grants despite our amazing track record with them on other projects. When I worked in real estate I learned that you can make the comps match what you want the outcome to be.

The fire department did a wonderful job of involving the community in open public meetings for the recent bond issue. Why isn’t that happening now?

Why is there no time for community input or a comprehensive plan for this major change of direction impacting all of us? It would be wonderful to take advantage of our Main Street benefits and come together as neighbors to explore the best options, ideas, and opportunities for how this project could reflect our vision of Main Street with adaptive reuse of the 6000 square feet building that already fits into the plan. There are original stage backdrops rolled up and stored in the attic and untold possibilities as a shared performance space.

In a recent Historic Preservation meeting it was explained there is one pending private donor,

undercutting the process of a public vote. Is our fire department for sale? Is the city going to spend half a million dollars and destroy an asset?

This current plan was not even on the table four months ago. While the City’s paid consultant stated this is not rushed, this version is rushed. A new fire department has been in the works for ten years. Surely after ten years of not getting it right, we could take the time to involve all the stakeholders in a public plan we can all be proud of.

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Catherine Noble is a member of the State Center Historic Preservation Commission.