Ramona Town Hall is in Desperate Need of Help - Will the Community Support It?
By Ruth Lepper

Ramona Town Hall

Ramona Town Hall directors, along with encouragement from the local chamber of commerce, are determined to take whatever steps necessary to reopen the historic landmark.

Woody Kirkman, president of the Town Hall board, and Sandee Salvatore, secretary/ treasurer, met June 5 with chamber president Carol Fowler and other interested chamber directors and members of the community to set a plan of action into motion for raising funds necessary to reopen the building.

"We want to form a new group to move with the funding and get the town hall open again," Kirkman said.

"What we're hoping to get together here is community support," Salvatore added.

At present, Kirkman and Salvatore are the only remaining directors on the Ramona Town Hall governing board. Kirkman stepped into the presidency following the Sept. 9, 2007, death of Beverly Ragsdale, who had been head of the organization for more than two decades.

The new funding group will be in addition to a five-member board of directors, which currently has two directors: Kirkman and Salvatore. Bob Hailey, who heads the City of Ramona organization that is working on incorporation issues, offered to fill one of the three vacancies. Kirkman said he has heard from others who are willing to serve on the board.

One of the immediate issues is raising $2,000 to pay property taxes and other assessments that Kirkman said haven't been paid in six years.

He estimated it would take at least $2 million to completely restore the 1894 two-story adobe building. Because the Town Hall has been deemed a historic building, there are specific requirements that must be adhered to during restoration.

Kirkman said the last time funds were available to pay the taxes was in 2002. Ongoing expenses, such as utility bills, were personally covered by Ragsdale and are now being paid by Kirkman.

"We have to figure out how to produce operational costs, just those mundane things that come up," Salvatore said.

The first step was writing a letter to the board of directors of Ramona Municipal Water District, requesting outstanding sewer bills to be forgiven. Bob Krysak, president of the RMWD board, said he would present the request at the June 24 meeting.

"If it's important to the community, the chamber is willing to step up and assist the Town Hall committee," said Fowler.

Kirkman and Salvatore also met with Supervisor Dianne Jacob in an effort to have special assessment taxes waived by the county.

Expenses for much of the previous restoration work were covered by grant money, including Community Development Block Grant funds. Work was completed on the two wings, including retrofitting and adding a sprinkler system for the entire building.

An arson fire in January 1995, which remains unsolved, destroyed or damaged the work that had been done up until that time. Work completed since then is now in poor condition.

Flooring that was replaced in the east wing has since buckled due to extreme heat coming through the spacious windows, and will need to be replaced. Kirkman said adding some sort of treatment to the windows or installing awnings on the exterior would be a great help in preventing further damage to the floor. There also are issues of rotting wood and exterior paint peeling off the building.

Insurance for the building has not been paid in several years due to the high cost of premiums. Kirkman said the last estimate was about $2,000 a month for insurance coverage. Fowler offered to contact insurance agencies to see if the hall can be insured for a lesser amount.

"If we can get the insurance figured out, we can do some major stuff to make it habitable," Kirkman said. "The Town Hall is retrofitted. There's no heat, no air conditioning. We almost have to put together a full list. Materials. Labor. But before we can do all that, we have to get the insurance issues resolved."