Document text
Medford's choice: kids or history The Southern Oregon Historical Society and Kid Time Children's Museum are both interested in moving into the Carnegie library in Medford. [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Monday Jan 15, 2018 at 5:20 PM Jan 15, 2018 at 5:20 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm For seven years, Kid Time Children's Museum has shared the old J.C. Penney building on Central Avenue in downtown Medford with its landlord, the Southern Oregon Historical Society. Now, the two organizations have found themselves in the uncomfortable position of competing for a lease to be the sole occupant of the Carnegie Library building on Main Street. Sunny Spicer, executive director for Kid Time, said her organization has been talking about moving for years into the Carnegie, which has sat mostly empty since the city took it over in 2005. Last year, Kid Time, which offers preschool and other activities for children, pitched its idea for the Carnegie with the owner, the city of Medford. Last year, the historical society indicated it wasn't moving out of the building it owned, so it was a bit strange when Kid Time learned the historical society also wanted the Carnegie, Spicer said. "It's a little distressing," she said. The J.C. Penney building, where Kid Time occupies most of the space, has a lot of deferred maintenance issues. "The building is not in good condition," Spicer said.   The city, which has done extensive remodeling in the Carnegie, is exploring the possibility of securing a tenant for its building, preferably an organization that could help bring people to downtown and remain open seven days a week. Last week, the council heard competing proposals for the Carnegie from representatives of Kid Time and the historical society. The city also wants an organization that has demonstrated financial stability so the tenant can take on the operation, security and maintenance of the building, which is 15,262 square feet and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The council will decide at a later time whether to go with one of the proposals or look elsewhere for other ideas for the Carnegie. At a recent council meeting, some councilors were puzzled why the historical society would want to move out of a building it owns. The council also wondered why Kid Time would want to move into the Carnegie, which is smaller than the 19,000-square-foot J.C. Penney building. "What's wrong with the J.C. Penney building?" Councilor Tim Jackle asked historical society representatives. The response from the historical society representative was that the J.C. Penney building is "historical but not that historical," and that the 1911 Carnegie was a better fit. Also, Pat Harper with the historical society said many of the patrons who visit her organization are uncomfortable walking through a children's area to get to the research library or to access the restrooms. "They feel a little out of place," she said. "It feels now like a children’s facility." Councilor Dick Gordon said, "This is going to be a tough decision on the Carnegie." He said the historical society appears to be having financial problems, and he wondered whether it had the wherewithal to take over the maintenance of the aging Carnegie building. The layout of the Carnegie, with many entrances and exits, could also pose problems. "You don't seem to have the staff to control the building adequately," he said.  Doug McGeary, president of the historical society, said by phone Monday his organization spent last year reorganizing, paring itself down to three paid staff positions to finally position itself in the black financially after struggling for 20 years during a time when funding dried up. "I think we've made some incredible strides," he said. Because of the reorganization, McGeary said, the historical society recently began thinking of selling the J.C. Penney building and sinking some of the money from that sale into the Carnegie. McGeary said he realizes this might put the city in an awkward position trying to decide between Kid Time and the historical society. He also said Kid Time has an option to buy the J.C. Penney building, but conceded it probably doesn't sit well with Kid Time that the historical society is vying for the same building. "I'm sorry that they feel that somehow we didn't talk about this," he said. McGeary said that as much as Kid Time threw a lifeline to the historical society when it was going through hard financial times, the use by that organization has posed some issues at the J.C. Penney building. "Is this a library or is this a kid place?" McGeary said. "Kid Time, as much as we've liked them, their use impacts our users." Both Kid Time and the historical society have proposed retaining the look of the existing historic building. But Kid Time has proposed adding another 10,000 square feet onto the building, possibly with an addition. Kid Time also wants to build an outdoor play area, which it can't do at the existing J.C. Penney location. The play area would be fenced. The historical society doesn't want to make any additions to the Carnegie but is exploring ways to upgrade the building, including making it more handicapped-accessible, providing a better elevator and retrofitting it for earthquake protection. Kid Time is looking at addressing the same issues and would conduct a capital campaign to raise money for the addition and retrofits. But Councilor Gordon said he doesn't think the two organizations grasp the investment that would have to be made in the Carnegie. "I’m not sure either group knows what they’re getting into with that building," he said — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.