Historic structure opinion

To the Editor,

The Letter to the Editor from historian and non-Ohio resident Rachel Oppenheimer in the last edition of The Richfield Times alleges that the Richfield Heritage Preserve’s strategic planning process shows contempt for historic structures. I was reminded of the quote by author Alexandre Dumas, “Business? It’s quite simple. It’s other people’s money.”  The business of Oppenheimer and of several interest groups who lobby for preserving decaying structures in the RHP seems to be spending Richfield taxpayer dollars. 

I appreciate the value of historic preservation, as I am sure my fellow Richfield residents do. However, with limited funds, those who manage RHP must determine which structures can and should be preserved. No one benefits by allowing unsightly and unsafe structures to proliferate RHP’s beautiful natural spaces.

Lofty dreams aside, there is no imminent cash flow to save every old structure. While interest groups lobby to preserve these structures in the hope of raising funds “someday,” one might wonder why there has been such little progress since RHP’s founding in 2014. Oppenheimer calls it shortsighted to make difficult decisions about which buildings can be viably saved. I call it shortsighted to fail to do so.

Every problem with limited resources necessitates difficult choices. The decision on which historic structures can be preserved in RHP is no exception. While I appreciate the perspective of outside interest groups, I hope they recognize that while it is easy to spend other people’s money, Richfield taxpayers deserve sound fiscal decisions in how RHP is run.

Jennifer Wehner
Brush Road