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Resident urges monthly council updates on deteriorating 1918 school building
Summary
A resident letter read at the meeting called on the council to provide regular updates and take action on the city-owned 1918 school building on Arabella Street, citing broken windows, a flooded basement and missed opportunities by administration to repurpose the property.
A letter from resident Ralph Han of William Street was read at the May 12 Defiance City Council meeting urging the council to take action on the city-owned 1918 school building on Arabella Street.
The letter says the building "still sits empty and deteriorating more with each passing day," citing broken windows and multiple basement floods. Han wrote that citizen-initiated proposals — including a developer-proposed senior-apartment conversion and a feasibility study to expand the Defiance Public Library and Tuttle Museum into the building — were rejected by the city administration. He asked the council to place the 1918 building on the council agenda for updates once per month so the public is regularly informed about efforts to find a use for the property.
The letter notes the building was placed on the national register of historic places and says citizens who worked to save the property deserve public accountability and regular reporting. The letter was entered into the record at the meeting; council did not take further action on the item during the session but received the request for monthly updates.
