The Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise, Blair, Nebraska  Sept. 21, 2007
Depot worth saving, but should cost less than estimate
It was probably a little unfair to ask Tom Kranda of the Blair Historic Preservation Alliance to explain and defend to the Blair City Council the estimates that someone else had put together concerning the renovation of the old Blair Depot that now sits in Lions Park.

The BHPA, you might recall, organized a grassroots campaign to save the old depot from destruction earlier this year and raised enough money to get it moved to the park. The group also estimated that it would cost less than $250,000 to rejuvenate the old building from an eyesore to a community asset.

But here was Kranda talking to the council about a sheet of paper in front of them that listed a total of $683,000 that an architect had estimated the project could cost. And some council members were plenty steamed about the Cadillac-like numbers for a project that had started out as a Chevy.

The estimate had been put together quickly in anticipation of an application from the city to the Nebraska Department of Roads for federal funds to help with the renovation.

And anyone who has been involved in asking for federal money knows how that works. The thinking seems to be along the lines of, "Well, up to $500,000 is available, so we might as well ask for all of it. If they don't give it to us, they'll just give it to someone else."

So, the estimate seemed to reflect what are surely high-end prices for the renovation. Pretty much everyone in the room agreed (and some council members threatened) that the project would not cost nearly that much.

Let's hope not and let's hope the request for federal funding does not completely overshadow the initial grassroots nature of the campaign to save the depot. Local people who were concerned about preserving a piece of local history got together, raised some money and some public awareness and saved the depot.

But the whole thing seems to have taken on a life of its own since then.

The bottom line is the depot was worth saving and it is worth renovating and it can and should be a centerpiece of activity in the community. But it probably would be cheaper than $683,000 to tear the old building down and build a new one in the park that looks like it.

The local folks who have spearheaded and funded this effort so far are willing to continue to do that in order to see their dream fulfilled. Here's hoping that dream doesn't get choked to death by government red tape.