I was delighted to read the letters from Clovis Steele about the history of the Memorial Hall, (Globe, Jan. 22) and Ronald Gentzler (Globe, Jan. 23). Mr. Gentzler was kind to call it goofy. I called it crazy.
Unfortunately, citizens opposing the idea were not present during the Joplin City Council meeting Jan. 19 about the proposal of taxes to fund the moving of the Joplin Museum Complex to Memorial Hall. Those who support the location to Memorial Hall brushed the City Council nicely. They were either driven by emotion to preserve the structure, emotional attachment to downtown or business people in downtown who think that if we have a museum there, we will have lines of buses filled with tourists.
Unfortunately, the City Council took the bait. It indicated that the building is not utilized enough and has a high maintenance cost. The city government is not in the entertainment business, and they need to lease the hall to an entity that is in the entertainment business and the city to get percentage from profit plus preserve the veterans’ access to the hall.
We all agree that we need a new location and space since the old museum ran out of space, and also we will need to raise money through the proposed tax for the project. In the meeting I proposed a new location and new building. My rationale will save Memorial Hall and if you are going to spend $7 million, you should not spend a chunk of it to remodel the inside of a building.
You need to spend it on a new modern structure that looks like a 21st-century museum, with a strong new structure and material that lasts forever. It should have easy accessibility and in a nice location, hopefully in the middle of a large parcel with a nice surrounding, landscaping and space for outdoor sculpture display and activity close to Interstate-44, where 53,000 cars pass by it daily.
The City Council needs to think outside or downtown, and spend the money wisely. Citizens of Joplin need to voice their opinion either way. City management needs to hear from the people.
Saad Al-shathir, M.D.
Joplin
