Sacrificing History for a Parking Lot!

This column ran in the 9/27/2011 Peoria Journal Star - it was also sent to the Pekin Daily times who chose not to run it for whatever reason. I'm sure the Times' reason for not running it isn't a good reason, but I've come to expect very little from them unfortunately in terms of their editorial decisions.

This week, the Pekin community learned of the tentative acquisition of the Pekin Daily Times building, located at 20 S. Fourth Street, by Tazewell County for the purpose of razing this historic structure to build a parking lot. The reported purchase price is $255,000.

The building has been a fixture in the downtown district for over a century. It was originally built by the Zerwekh family, who immigrated to Pekin in 1854, and was home to the Zerwekh ice cream parlor, a Masonic lodge, a dance studio and the newspaper. To lose that building and its historic significance for the purpose of a parking lot would be a tragedy!

Parking is certainly an issue that has motivated the county to move in this direction, as it is for anyone who owns a business and for other members of our community. We want our downtown to be accessible and friendly to our visitors, customers and constituents. Since it appears the county is not the sole stakeholder in this issue, perhaps we can all work together to solve the problem without the destruction of a building that has seen so much and is so significant to the landscape of downtown Pekin.

Is this an appropriate expenditure of county funds for a parking lot? What are the costs to raze the building? Surely there are going to be expensive environmental studies necessary because of possible chemical contamination when the Times' press was operational. This building may contain asbestos and lead-based paint and maybe other materials that will require hazardous waste disposal. That is not cheap. All of this money going out before a parking lot is even built!

This project will be funded by taxpayers. It's our money. Is this the best solution? Spending a lot of money for a parking lot and destroying a piece of history, too? The price is too high, in dollars and in sense.

I urge local residents to contact all members of the Tazewell County Board and tell them that the acquisition of this property for this purpose is not worth the price. Tell them that you see value in our historic buildings. Come to the Tazewell County board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. and speak out against this acquisition and in favor of saving the Pekin Times building, while also saving Tazewell County from making a huge mistake.