QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - After a mysterious fire takes down a Quincy landmark, the community is trying to figure out how to use the empty site left behind.
The old William Stevens High School burned down in March. The building went up in flames overnight, destroying the old school in just six hours. State officials say this case is closed and the fire is ruled as undetermined.
Now that the debris is cleared away, it's time to do something with the space left behind. Quincy and Gadsden County leaders held a community meeting looking for suggestions Monday night.
Not everyone agrees about how the space should be used, but one thing is certainly clear: the folks in Quincy are passionate about making sure they use this opportunity to improve their community and honor its history.
"We can only move forward if we work together," said one meeting attendee.
For nearly a century, the Stevens High School building stood on 4th Street, but after a fire destroyed the Quincy landmark back in March, all that's left is the old cafeteria building and an empty field. Now many in the area are weighing in about what to do with the site.
"We want startups for small businesses," said one resident.
"You have to have something there to make poor people want to feel good about themselves and have skills to go to work," said Gadsden County Commissioner Brenda Holt.
"Some folks wanted a substation because this is an area that does have a lot of drug activities as well as crime. A lot of burglary," said Sherrie Taylor, Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners Chair. "Some people want to have a health [clinic]. Some people wanted after-school tutorial programs for school-aged children. An art gallery. It was a smorgasbord of ideas, great ideas."
The issue now: planning out and funding all the ambitious ideas. The Gadsden County Administrator says they have about $465,000 in insurance money from the fire and the city could apply for grants. However, one meeting attendee warned that when it comes to taking on a new project, there are a lot of details to work out.
"Consider parking, staffing and how much of a presence through the course of the day will someone be there to ensure that, whatever we do, it's something that is here for the long haul," said the attendee.
At this point, much is still up in the air, but one thing everyone agrees on is using some of the bricks from the old building to create a memorial for the lost local landmark.
"We certainly don't want to get rid of the history," said Taylor. "We don't want to let all that has come out of that school die down just because it burned down. We still want to preserve that."
Another meeting will be held at the community center on Saturday, November 4th, to narrow down the list of ideas and begin formulating a plan for what's next.
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