Rescue of Grace Hall?

A Letter to the Editor of the Northwest Herald today poses an interesting concept for the future of Grace Hall.

Jane Collins of Woodstock wrote that Dorr Township might pull the $2,750,000 from its kitty and create a town hall and community center in Grace Hall. Now this is thinking "outside the box."

You can read her full letter here: www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/05/06/r_9zvw00xiqgum7gpwk58zda/

It's the seed of a good idea. There does need to be a proper balance between preservation of a historic building (about which the Woodstock City Council is still dancing around) and the property rights of the owner, Woodstock Christian Life Services. Her letter shows some definite creative thinking.

Should Dorr Township consider this? Its next Township meeting is Tuesday, May 12, 7:30PM, at the Township offices, 140 Newell St., Woodstock. Drop by their website at www.dorrtownship.com/

Somewhere, somehow, there is a solution to keeping this beautiful building where it is AND WCLS business interests, although it's not the business of the City of Woodstock whether WCLS stays in business. Remember? It's a private business. A not-for-profit business, but a business. Yes, it does good deeds, and it's a business. Yes, it serves an important segment of the community, and it's a business. And yes, its employees like it a lot, and it's a business.

And it has a lot of competition right now, with the likely project in Woodstock at Calhoun and Tryon Streets and the proposal to convert Resurrection Center to a retirement center.

The Woodstock City Council has the obligation to stop malingering on the decision to landmark the building. The mayor's ploy to delay a vote on landmark status at the April 21st City Council meeting has not been explained. Why did not even one of the other six members of the Council object to his motion to table the landmark recommendation by the Historic Preservation Commission (way back in November 2008) to "time indefinite" (one of his favorite expressions which, with all due respect to WCLS, could mean, in this case, until "that hot place down south" freezes over).