WARE SHOALS — Restore it or knock it down. Although they hadn’t planned on it, Ware Shoals’ town council talked Tuesday about the conflicted future for Katherine Hall.

“This is pretty tough on me,” said Councilman George Leagans, introducing the matter for discussion late in Tuesday’s council meeting. “I did not experience the great things many did in Katherine Hall.”

Leagans said in his years on council officials have talked about the future of Katherine Hall many times, and he’s been a supporter of restoring it. During the Catfish Feastival, a resident brought to his attention how dilapidated and damaged the building is, and he took a closer look at the building.

“I believe it’s best for this town. … It is time to look seriously at bringing that building down,” he said. “If we can’t get someone to fix it, what does that tell us? It’s just not fixable.”

The restoration of Katherine Hall is one of the projects set to be funded by the 2016 Greenwood County Capital Project Sales Tax. The 18th project on the finalized list, the CPST is set to fund the building’s restoration to the tune of $3,397,273 — funds that are still years away from coming in, and that Councilman Bryan Ross said the town can’t wait for.

Councilman Kent Boles put it succinctly: Restoring the building is a pipe dream.

“It should have been torn down 38 years ago,” he said. “I’ll be 65 on my birthday, and that canteen was closed before I was old enough to get in it.”

How can he tell residents to clean up their yards and beautify their properties, Boles said, when the town has had a dilapidated building at its center for decades?

Mayor Scott Horne said they can’t tear down the building without a plan for what they’ll do with the property. The town submitted a plan for the property in 2016, when it petitioned for the restoration to be funded by the Capital Project Sales Tax.

The original project application, submitted in January 2016, sought funds to restore the three-story, 15,637-square-foot building to be used as a centerpiece for the town. It holds a 500-seat auditorium the proposal suggested could be used as a performing arts venue, and would have space where several of the town’s departments could be relocated. It was also intended as a town recreation center.

The application included a 31-page report on the condition of Katherine Hall, completed by consultant Preservation South on behalf of the Katherine Hall Preservation Committee.

“Katherine Hall retains much of its architectural integrity and can return to being a significant resource for the Ware Shoals community through the funds generated from this grant,” the application said.

The application said once the building was restored, it would be maintained using tax revenue, donations and income brought in by the building’s services.

Councilwoman Patty Walters cast doubt on the project’s price tag.

“What it’s going to cost to renovate that is going to cost double what the penny sales tax is going to get us,” she said. “My problem is once you get it done, how are we going to maintain it? … And 3 million is not going to do it. Three million is not even going to come close to repair it.”

Council would look foolish to seriously consider tearing down Katherine Hall when there’s millions of dollars coming from the CPST for its restoration, said Councilman Micheal Powell. He suggested talking with the preservation committee that made the report on the building, to get their input.

“I see it as potential for tourism in the future,” he said. “Katherine Hall is a viable and important part of our future.”

Leagans floated the idea of building a one-level building on the Katherine Hall grounds and using it as a rentable event space and venue.

“No, we don’t have a concrete plan, but citizens have mentioned — at least around me — that it could be used as a multipurpose building,” he said.

Council only talked about the future of Katherine Hall and didn’t take any action, but town officials said they’d look into their options regarding the building.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Jun 17, 2021

 By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/katherine-halls-future-in-question-for-ware-shoals-council/article_efcea294-5b6d-55ae-849e-d88e7dbb6a99.html