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am W P�,4,1 9 logical and useful alternative to selling the building to a commercial enterprise with the limitations that Commissioner Bird had indicated, or tearing it down at great expense to the County and whatever ramifications that would entail. He believed if there was time to work on it, an objective could be formalized, necessary grant applications could be made, agreements from all the possible parties involved could be obtained, and it would give the building a fighting chance to be preserved. Ruth Stanbridge, representing the Indian River Historical Society, advised that a packet of information had been provided to the Board. She expressed surprise that the County had never commissioned engineers to determine whether the building was structurally sound. She believed that the building was probably considered "ugly" because it was a WPA building, built to be very strong. The same design was built throughout the country during the Depression. Their survey revealed that many similar courthouses in Florida have been destroyed and that the ones still standing have been adapted to other governmental or educational uses. Mrs. Stanbridge reasoned that the 57 -year-old building, representing a history of struggles and one of the county's best known landmarks, could be preserved with expert restoration and rehabilitation and proper upkeep. She believed there was no reason why it could not be part of the public buildings in the community. -- Mrs. Stanbridge advised that the Historical Society members will be more than happy to help obtain the public grants and suggested the dollars which might be used to destroy it could be parlayed with the grant monies to restore it. Anthony Masi, 1700 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach, believed preservation of the old courthouse was important to the revitalization of downtown Vero Beach and that it would be breaking faith with the pioneers of the county and the members of the Historical Society not to preserve it. Jim Grancy, 36 Pine Arbor Lane, was opposed to the preservation of the old courthouse, and said he thought of it as a sailboat going along with the anchor down, that it was a drag on the market. He said the building paid no taxes, never will, and it required a lot of management. Commissioner Adams favored study for the renovation of the building in terms of what should be done, as Commissioner Macht and the Historical Society were suggesting. She believed the building was a focal point for downtown development. There is a desperate 42 December 13, 1994