Harley Clarke Dollars and Sense about the Budget

As Evanston voters head to the polls tomorrow with the specter of budget woes weighing on everyone’s mind, Save Harley Clarke wants to dispel some rumors that have been perpetuated that, “We shouldn't be saving a mansion by the lake when we’re closing a firehouse.” If that were true, we’d be the first to agree, but it is not true. Saving Harley Clarke is not related to closing a firehouse. In fact, we want to save both houses.

At Save Harley Clarke, we want to make it clear to the elected body as well as the electorate in Evanston, that it is a false narrative to imply or directly state that preserving the Harley Clarke house has an adverse impact on the budget.

At Save Harley Clarke we believe in human capital, in Evanston employees keeping their jobs, in Firehouse #4, Engine 24, and in first responders. We believe in youth services, in mental health services, in the health department, affordable housing, and victim services.

The budget problems are NOT the fault of Harley Clarke. First, maintenance of the house represents the most miniscule percentage of the City of Evanston's budget at just $15,000 per year. Indeed, two different citizen groups have offered to pay that amount until a suitable adaptive reuse solution can be found while working together with Landmarks Illinois, State Rep. Robyn Gabel and the State Historic Preservation agency. Save Harley Clarke is not asking for any city money. Not a dime. Harley Clarke is NOT a budget issue.

At Save Harley Clarke, we believe working together we can find the solutions to the budget problems, but it is going to take working together with honesty and integrity -- without making false equivalencies.

We believe that philanthropic giving is not a zero sum game, but even if it were, there are historic tax credits and grants to help turn Harley Clarke into the economic engine that it has the potential to be, with every dollar invested in historic preservation returning $2.44 to the community, like so many models that have gone before it.

At Save Harley Clarke, we believe in a clean environment and know that the greenest building is the one that is already standing, and that demolition would have devastating effects on Evanston’s environmental health. We believe in good government of and for the people, where, as stewards of our assets, they will represent the will of the people and their concerns for the environment and public health. We are infinitely grateful for the support of Citizens’ Greener Evanston and co-chair of the Mayor’s Citizen Committee for Climate Action Resilience Plan who supports preservation of the built environment and that “the greenest building is the one already standing.”

We believe in the good guidance of the Preservation Commission who last voted unanimously to deny the City’s application for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish this $3 million dollar public asset, as described by Ald. Judy Fiske on Phil Ponce’s Chicago Tonight. We question the City’s stewardship of Harley Clarke through the years and hope they can now realize the asset they have and turn it into the economic engine it can become.

We sincerely hope that our elected officials will take seriously the results of the referendum and listen to the voice of the people. More importantly, we sincerely hope that the Evanston community knows that Harley Clarke is not the reason the City Manager has proposed closing a firehouse or is losing employee positions. Harley Clarke supports the Evanston Firefighters and other staff, and values people over buildings. We want to turn Harley Clarke into an economic engine for Evanston. A yes vote on the ballot referendum will help do that. For more information, visit www.saveharleyclarke.org