Final Bell Hasn't Tolled for Historic Sumner

Jun 22, 10:56 AM

Current Headlines: By Tim Hrenchir

By Tim Hrenchir

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Topeka's historic Sumner School won't go under the wrecking ball anytime soon, a Kansas State Historical Society official said Thursday.

The historical society and the city in 2002 agreed to a covenant running through Sept. 11, 2012, that bans the city without written consent from the state from undertaking any activity that would affect the building's architectural appearance and structural integrity, said Patrick Zollner, the historical society's director of historic preservation.

"The society would never consent to the demolition of Sumner School," said Zollner, who also is deputy state historic preservation officer.

Zollner provided The Topeka Capital-Journal with a copy of a "declaration of historic preservation" covenant with the historical society that was signed by then-Mayor Butch Felker on Aug. 29, 2002.

City attorney Brenden Long said city council approval wasn't required to enter into the covenant.

"The document is connected with a historic preservation grant to help fund the maintenance and repair of the facility," Long said. "The mayor was empowered to apply for and accept these grants on behalf of the city and, by extension, could sign the documents associated with receiving said grants."

The covenant can be amended or released only by mutual written agreement. Its wording indicates the city accepted its restrictions as part of an agreement through which the city received a historic preservation grant to preserve the building.

Zollner said the historical society is hoping to arrange a meeting with city officials to discuss circumstances surrounding a move the council made late Tuesday. Without taking a vote, the council authorized the city staff to begin the process of demolishing the Sumner School building.

No council members objected as Deputy Mayor Brett Blackburn directed city manager Norton Bonaparte to have the city initiate paperwork to have the building demolished and to inform two groups seeking to use the school at 330 S.W. Western Ave. that they have five months to show they are financially capable of acquiring and renovating it.

Sumner School, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was linked to the historic Brown v Board of Education desegregation case decided by the Supreme Court in 1954.

The school was closed by Topeka Unified School District 501 as part of a desegregation plan in 1996. The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library bought the building for $40,000 the following year and used it for storage. In 2002, the library sold the school for $45,000 to the city, which has since been trying to find someone to use the building.

The city this year received requests from two applicants, Pioneer Group Inc. and Community First Inc., that wish to use the school. Deputy city manager Randy Speaker told the council Tuesday that both offered viable ideas for using the building but fell "very short" of showing they are financially capable of renovating and operating it.

Ross Freeman is owner and president of Pioneer Group, which seeks to renovate the building, put in senior housing and build townhomes nearby. Former USD 501 principal Sandra Lassiter is executive director of Community First, which hopes to make it a multipurpose community center that would include health services, a charter school, a day care center and a senior center.

Speaker said Thursday that city administrators plan to meet with both groups to discuss the financial parts of their applications and what they will need to submit to demonstrate financial feasibility.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.

(c) 2007 Topeka Capital Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.