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Residents urge community uses for Richland County campus — gym access, piano restoration
Summary
Several local residents urged the campus reconfiguration committee to preserve community assets and allow campus space for local groups: one requested monthly community visioning meetings; another sought use of the gym for a county organization; a piano expert offered to assess and help restore campus pianos for local use.
Public commenters at the Richland County Campus Reconfiguration Committee meeting urged the county to preserve cultural and community assets on the UW campus and to make underused spaces available to local groups.
Tom Crafton, a Rockbridge Township resident and former county board member, asked the committee to allow volunteer‑run monthly meetings at Tippen Hall to develop a long‑term vision for the campus and to explore alternative‑energy and sustainable‑agriculture ideas. “I was coming up with an idea of how we could come up with different revenue streams…one of them is thinking about alternative energy,” Crafton said, and he proposed a volunteer Bridgeville Community College to study reuse ideas.
Alan, a public commenter, asked that the county allow Simons (a county entity) to use the campus gymnasium, saying the organization had grown by about 500 members over six months and that limited space was constraining programming. He noted a foundation donation of roughly $121,000 toward exercise equipment and asked for access to the unused gym across the way.
Richard Lowe, who identified himself as a former owner of Lowe Manufacturing, urged the committee not to dispose of the campus pianos by low‑cost sale. He described a Baldwin 7‑foot concert piano stored on campus and offered to inspect and help restore it for use by Richland Center High School and the wider community. “It would be a shame to give that piano away or give it to the lowest bidder,” Lowe said, and he asked permission for Randy (campus staff) to let him examine the instruments.
Chair acknowledged public comments, reminded speakers that the committee does not act on public comment during the meeting, and asked commenters to leave contact information so staff could follow up. The committee indicated it would not decide access or disposition immediately but would use contact information to pursue follow‑up discussions and to evaluate items suggested for preservation.
