City has chance to save Ward Hall

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 2:00 AM EST

Just when we thought Ward Hall had found its protecting angels in the form of Georgetown College and Jim Barlow, a loose coalition of alleged "preservationists" are trying to throw a monkey wrench into the approval of the project. My question is, where have these so-called "interested people" been for the years and years that Ward Hall has stood empty and deteriorating? Where were they when the fascinating Victorian-era wooden barn, with its arched windows and high dormers, which stood about 300 yards east of the house, collapsed from neglect about five years ago? The reality is that these so-called "preservationists" only come out of the woodwork when someone else wants to buy a historic property and do something with it. They rarely, if ever, have any concrete plans or realistic solutions to propose, but persist in serving only as non-constructive critics, and advocates of delay. In so doing, they do not really serve the purposes of historic preservation, but actually only obstruct those who would move forward and get something done.

After all, how realistic can it be to propose any pseudo-plan which is dependent on grants and loans from governmental entities which are themselves struggling to balance budgets and afford basic services? And how realistic can it be to propose turning Ward Hall into the second coming of Shakertown, or a bed and breakfast, when the tourism industry in Kentucky is itself struggling to make ends meet? Not to mention the normal difficulties of the hospitality industry, which even in the best of times experiences a high rate of turnover, closings and failed enterprises. Mr. Barlow is an experienced businessman in Central Kentucky and a dedicated supporter of Georgetown College. He is building a personal home in Canewood subdivision and will soon be a resident of Georgetown and Scott County with the rest of us. He has put forward a concrete proposal, not dependent on an inchoate wish list of government grants or unknown persons or entities to step in and "save" Ward Hall. As Councilman Terry Maurer was quoted recently as saying, shouldn't we be putting our faith in someone who is willing to "put his money where his mouth is," as opposed to wrangling over what amounts to nothing more than vague ideas? Mr. Barlow proposes to leave 40-70 acres of property intact around Ward Hall to preserve the "curtilage," or contiguous lands, of the house, for preservation of the structure and its eventual use by Georgetown College.

Drive out U.S. 460 west from town, and look at the house for yourself. You will see that 40-70 acres of retained land will more than protect and preserve the surroundings and appearance of Ward Hall. The rest of the property has not, in recent memory, served as anything beyond a hayfield or tobacco field, the setting for the collapse of elderly wooden structures, and the butchery of trees in favor of power lines. Mr. Barlow then proposes to build "high-end" homes on the remaining property, nicer than the ones across U.S. 460 in Canewood. I live in Canewood and see Ward Hall out my kitchen window while I munch my Rice Chex every morning. As a property owner in the very district at issue, I am very much in favor of Mr. Barlow getting the green light immediately, and all of the support the city and county can offer him to get this project going. Georgetown, like it or not, is becoming one of the nicer residential communities in central Kentucky, where dozens of people who work in Lexington, Louisville and northern Kentucky, not to mention at Toyota and its constituent companies, make their homes.

There is a market for this type of development, and there is certainly nothing whatsoever wrong with Jim Barlow's vision for this property. The property is land-locked by U.S. 460, U.S. 62 and the bypass, and far better that it eventually contain nice homes with Ward Hall as their magnificent centerpiece, than we end up 20 years from now with the "Ward Hall Shopping Mall" on the bypass, and a strip center at the corner of 460 and Payne's Depot. Progress vs. preservation is a never-ending battle in today's world. There is no question that we need to work to preserve our historic structures and landmarks, for ourselves and for generations to come. However, preservation should be accomplished in a realistic and functional manner, and not just used as a watchword for obstruction of any proposal for progress which comes down the pike.

To my mind, the credibility of the current "protest/preservationist" effort before the city council must be questioned, as mentioned above, in light of the fact that these people have been nowhere to be seen while Ward Hall silently crumbled before our eyes. Only now, when a proposal is on the table which will manage to serve the dual masters of progress and preservation, do these issues get raised in a public forum. The solution for the city council is simple there is a realistic, do-able and sensible proposal on the table for Ward Hall to be preserved by Jim Barlow and Georgetown College. Can it possibly make sense to risk losing this proposal in exchange for pipe dreams? The simple and direct answer is, of course, no. It is time for the Georgetown City Council to step up, and say yes to the realistic decision for the future of Ward Hall, and let Mr. Barlow save the house while it can still be saved.

David C. Trimble, a Georgetown resident, is an attorney.