American Legion to have input in veterans memorial park

Jul. 20—Joplin city officials say they will continue to work with veterans as they make plans to take down Memorial Hall and build a veteran memorial park in its place.

The City Council agreed Monday to go forward with a formal effort to solicit proposals from architects for the project. City officials state in documents that "deep engagement with the community" is expected in the planning process.

A company is to be selected to arrange for demolition and clearing of the site, to create a design and oversee construction of the park, City Manager Nick Edwards told the council. He said the request will be issued Aug. 5 for qualifications of those interested in creating a plan.

"This selected firm will lead a team of city and community leaders to perform a building memorials preservation and assessment, seek community feedback and guidance, evaluate a variety of design options based on the feedback received, and provide a cost estimate for the recommended future use of the site as a park worthy of the history and prominence of the site in the downtown Joplin area," according to the city documents submitted to the council on Monday.

The city manager said the proposals would ask for a description of how the architect or company will conduct and incorporate community engagement into the plan. He expects to submit information to the council on the selection of a company in October.

Hall history

A former council member, Phil Stinnett, spoke at Monday's meeting. He said the history of the building's construction shows a community effort to build a memorial hall for veterans first came up in 1918 and a campaign was begun in 1923. Joplin voters then passed a proposal for bonds. The hall was finished and dedicated in 1925.

"The election effort was sponsored by the American Legion," and the city commission at that time approved the use of property at Eighth Street and Wall Avenue as the site. "The veterans themselves, the American Legion, spearheaded all those efforts to bring about the construction," Stinnett said, and efforts to raise the funds.

The hall was to be a memorial to those who served in wars and the local men and women who died.

"But it's more than that. For anyone who's ever worn a uniform in any way, shape or form, the Memorial Hall, not just the building but the grounds, too, represent hallowed ground," Stinnett said. "I am going to suggest to you that as you go through the process, that you remember what the land was there for and the American Legion still exists today in Joplin."

It's an organization that provides military honors at more than 100 veteran funerals a year and stages an annual Veterans Day parade among other activities. Stinnett asked city officials to involve the Legion in plans for the property. He also asked that the city lease part of that land to the Legion for a building for them to meet because the hall had been provided for that purpose.

The Legion had to leave Memorial Hall several years ago because of the conditions in the building that included mold.

An analysis done earlier this year by SFS Architecture, of Kansas City, assessed the building's condition at fair to poor. In addition to crumbling concrete, walls and an entry ramp, as well as a damaged roof, moisture has infiltrated and is weakening the interior walls and fixtures. Mold continues to spread to all the interior structure, fixtures and seating, the city was told. Rehabilitation costs were estimated at $37 million. Demolition was estimated at about $4.7 million.

Current city documents state that if demolition were to take place, key elements of the building are to be removed and retained for a park.

Existing war memorials on the east and west side of the hall are to be protected and remain, according to those documents. Salvage items from the interior should be removed and kept for display at the Joplin History Museum or reinstallation at another building. Those would include plaques, displays, the building's cornerstone and other artifacts.

Legion input

After the Monday meeting and Stinnett's comments, the city manager was asked by the Globe if the Legion would be included in the planning process. He said that after an architect is retained by the council for the project, park planning would fully involve the Legion.

"The Legion would have an opportunity to work directly with the design professionals to create a concept for the facility and property mentioned by Mr. Stinnett. The other concept would be to create a park in the event that the Legion plans are not attainable (which could also include the Legion's input). So yes, the American Legion would be fully included in the design process."

Bob Harrington, commander of the American Legion post, said they want a small building on the hall site suitable to accommodate meetings of about 50 people.

There are lists of veterans from the Spanish-American War and those killed in World War I inscribed on marble slabs inside the lobby of the hall that are not be suitable to be displayed outdoors.

"The interior lobby would be a perfect place to display those interior memorials," Harrington said.

"I think it would be phenomenal to have that building on the site of Memorial Hall. I think that would be a pretty neat carryover," he added.

The Legion also envisions the possibility that brick taken from Memorial Hall be used on the facing of the Legion building if one is erected.

While some people, including Stinnett, express concern about keeping the outdoor memorial park safe from improper use, Harrington said that the presence of post members at the building along with patrols by police and city park rangers could likely thwart misbehavior. Legion members would be willing to help with maintenance of the park, Harrington said.

"It's a true shame that the building has deteriorated so far. It's deteriorated too long," Harrington said. "But we very much want to be a part," of the next chapter for the site.

Landmark status

The building is a local landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination for that was written by Jill Halbach, who is affiliated with the Post Memorial Library, which tracks historic properties, and the city's Historic Preservation Commission. However, under the commission rules, there likely would be no protection for the hall because it is city owned.

Halbach said the commission should have input on what happens with Memorial Hall, "not because of its inclusion on the National Register, but because it is a local landmark. As such, any extensive proposed changes, such as demolition/development (e.g. a park) would require that a certificate of appropriateness be applied for," with the commission.

"The commission would then either approve or deny, and the applicant, in this case the city, would have the option of appealing. An appeal would go to council and they would either uphold or override the commission's decision. Please note that all Historic Preservation Commission members are council-appointed and our decisions are based on what we, as a commission, are mandated to uphold by the very entity that owns this building," Halbach said.

It is the loss of a building she said she considers an anchor of Joplin's historic structure inventory.

"Personally, I'm still trying to make sense of and process the situation with Memorial Hall. I don't think I speak for just myself when I say that it seems things have escalated quickly," she said.

"As for the commission, Memorial Hall has been on our radar for some time and it's clear we have an interest in seeing the building saved. Why else would we have nominated it for local landmark status or hired a consultant (on the city's behalf) to nominate it for the National Register of Historic Places? Although we favor saving buildings, especially ones that are by preservation standards at least nowhere near 'too far gone,' we're mostly interested in holding the city accountable for doing due diligence. That is, seeing at least an attempt to sell it before considering any sort of demolition. To me, it's akin to complaining that no one is interested in buying your house when you've yet to put it on the market," Halbach said.

Council member Josh Detar, in past discussion, sought a council reprieve for the building to seek proposals from any interested parties to come forward to assume ownership and repair the building, but he was not joined by any other member of the council in support of that proposal.