By Sara Aeikens, Albert Lea

Whether Cap Emmons Auditorium is preserved or demolished, there are two vital issues concerning values that have not been sufficiently addressed. These values are about the importance of keeping one’s word and the importance of comprehensive planning.

Community leaders I have made contact with concerning this issue are the superintendent of School Distict 241, a former school referendum committee member, Land Between the Lakes committee members, Freeborn County Historical Museum director, Chamber of Commerce director, mayor, city manager, city planner, port authority director and two CEOs of the Albert Lea Mayo System.

After gathering information and opinions from each of them, I began to see patterns emerging. The first pattern concerns trust.

In December, 1997, District #241 School Board published and distributed a proposal stating, “Some parts of the present high school and the Cap Emmons Auditorium will be retained to house several district level services and to serve as a community resource. Other areas of the structure that are not used by the school district or by the community may be sold or demolished as determined by the school board.”

Communications broke down and trust with the community was broken at some point.

The city sponsored and helped pay for the Minnesota Design Team to come to Albert Lea. This hope-inspiring series of meetings resulted in an Oct. 31, 2004, publication. Two of the 11 guiding principles developed by several hundred interested citizens are entitled, “Plan Ahead and Plan Behind” and “Restore and Reuse your Treasures.”

The first principle states, “For every project that replaces an existing building, the community has to develop a strategy for the facility left when the new project is complete.”

The second principle states, “Once razed, a building is lost to the community forever. Real care should be exercised when dealing with parts of the community that are architecturally significant or those that must become so.”

Community trust with both the school district and the city representatives has eroded. This results in what I see as loss of hope in our community for future improvements and a positive community vision, including a “Why bother” or “What I say won’t make a difference” attitude from citizens.

The Minnesota Historic Preservation Alliance has selected Cap Emmons as one of the state’s top 10 endangered buildings for 2005 and yet plans to destroy the building proceed.

What I’ve learned from the experience of doing research about preserving Cap Emmons Auditorium is that those who are interested in a community change need to plan, prepare, initiate and be a part of the process.

I have learned that if public officials aren’t communicating with their citizens, they may not be representing them, so it is imperative that we let those in power know our views as soon as an issue arises.

It is possible to advocate and have success. Keeping one’s word is a paramount value that promotes citizens’ trust.

There are other endangered historical structures in our community. We need to continue developing overall community vision and comprehensive planning.