Take back our city

During the past year, I have become involved with the revitalization of our downtown area, as well as preservation of all of our historic buildings. I have been publicly vocal, including a previous Letter to the Editor where I "called out" our mayor for her inappropriate, open apology for voting in favor of the Thermal Basin Fire District code during the first Downtown Task Force meeting, as well as my recent public commentary at the Feb. 4 city council meeting where I voiced my disapproval of the appeal lodged by Monty Scott, owner of the Wade building, which was deemed as an unsafe structure by the Board of Appeals and Adjustments. This was due to the report issued by Hot Springs Fire Chief Ed Davis, who has been working diligently to ensure the public's safety, as well as the safety of his firefighting staff, by carefully inspecting all of the structures contained in the Thermal Basin Fire District and filing detailed reports of his findings.

For many years, Hot Springs city leaders have allowed buildings to meet the outdated "Vacant Structure" Code, which was created to "ensure the public health, safety and welfare insofar as they are affected by the conditions and maintenance of vacant structures and to ensure that all vacant commercial and residential structures are secure and impervious to the elements." This code goes on to state, "No person, firm or corporation shall own or maintain any vacant structure or vacant portions of an occupied structure, including the adjourning premises which is not completely secure and impervious to the elements or otherwise does not comply with the provisions of this Code." Also, "It shall be the owner's or the operator's responsibility to insure vacant structures are maintained in compliance with this Code."

On Dec. 17, 2013, an ordinance entitled, "An Ordinance Amending the Fire Prevention Code of the City of Hot Springs, Arkansas (Ordinance 5668, As Amended) To Create And Establish A Thermal Basin Fire District, And For Other Purposes," was taken from the agenda and read by title only by the city attorney. Upon roll call, a unanimous vote in favor of the motion was issued and the ordinance was declared adopted. This was the first step taken to adopt the use of the "existing building" code, which takes into consideration the historic and, oftentimes, ornate structure of a building and allows buildings to be "sprinkled" as a means of fire suppression, rather than the more stringent requirements that are part of the International Building Code.

Building owners were notified of this change and were given a time frame for which they were required to begin the phases of the improvements. The phases begin with the submission of proposed plans for compliance to the city engineer, followed by progressive implementation of the improvements to each floor over six-month increments. Following this schedule, it will take as long as seven and a half years to bring all floors of the Medical Arts Building into compliance which seems like more than ample time.

I've been asked many times why I care. "What skin do I have in the game?" We all have skin in the game! How many of you have had a life experience in one of the buildings downtown? Are my concerns invalidated by the fact that I'm not a property owner or a business owner downtown? I think not. Do you want to live in a town where we allow buildings to just deteriorate and fall? Or do you want to live in a town where the streets are attractive and the economy is strong?

Hot Springs has been a vibrant part of this state and remains so today. It is up to us to step forward and demand good stewardship of our historic properties. Ownership of an historic building/property is a privilege. With that privilege comes responsibility. If the owners do not want to put forth the money and effort to bring these buildings up to an acceptable code, then they need to sell them to an investor who will.

Building owners may threaten to demolish buildings rather than bring them up to code. We heard this mentioned in the Feb. 4 city council meeting by Thomas Stone, attorney for Mr. Scott, who stated that "spending $75,000 to demolish the Wade building would be a far cry from the $300,000 that it will cost to provide the improvements and that if this happens to many of the buildings in Hot Springs, it will no longer be Hot Springs ... I'd like for you to keep that in mind."

I would like for the public to keep in mind that many of these buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, and demolition would require authorization of a permit by the Historic District Commission of Hot Springs. Is demolition really a viable option if there are investors out there making reasonable offers to purchase the buildings? Of course not. It appears to be an attempt to hold the general public hostage. This is the same group of people who create revenue in those buildings through patronage to the businesses.

I have tried to maintain a positive attitude and open mind when dealing with not only the rubble that still remains at the heart of our city, but also when considering the effect of the new codes that are now in place. Not all building owners are resistant to the changes. In fact, many building owners and business owners have embraced them. To those individuals, I extend my sincere thanks for having the selflessness to realize that preservation of their properties will insure that they are here for generations to come. I want my grandchildren to see where my grandfather and their great-grandfather once lived and loved life. It is time for us to band together as a community and take back our city.

"No longer are we accepting things we cannot change -- now is the time to change the things we 'cannot' accept." (Author unknown)

Brenda Brandenburg is the administrator of the Facebook page "Save Her Majesty: Restoration of the Majestic Hotel, Hot Springs, Arkansas," which was created about a month before a portion of the hotel complex burned.