Board pauses P.E.O. Memorial Library demolition plan

MT. PLEASANT — After an emotional public hearing Monday night, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District slowed, though did not stop, its plan to demolish the P.E.O. Memorial Library on the former Iowa Wesleyan campus, voting to table action on bid documents until January 2026, while community members explore alternatives.

During a public hearing about the demolition, the board’s discussion was accompanied by residents urging a delay in making a decision due to the building’s history. The P.E.O. memorial building opened in 1927, when Mary Allen Stafford—the last living P.E.O. founder—attended the groundbreaking, according to P.E.O. International’s historical timeline.

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Architect Thomas McNerney laid out a $371,000 demolition plan that includes site restoration, removal of electrical and mechanical systems, and decommissioning of the building’s geothermal wells.

McNerney explained that demolition would proceed carefully from the top down, partly because of safety issues with crumbling stonework, and that workers would remove the cornerstone separately to check for a possible historical time capsule.

“There’s probably a 70% chance that [the time capsule] does exist,” he said. (23:45–23:58)

While McNerney says his plan would include attempts at preservation of the potential time capsule, the cornice and parapet have deteriorated on the building and it has “definitely become a danger.”

Superintendent John Henriksen gave some insight on the district’s position with the P.E.O building. According to him, the U.S. Department of Agriculture would not let the district exclude the P.E.O. building when it bought the “Central Campus” package, which the board pursued to secure the gym and chapel for immediate academic and activities use.

He added that Carl A. Nelson Co. estimated it would cost $40 million to build facilities comparable to the campus gym and chapel the district acquired for $1.1 million.

While the decision to purchase the buildings saved money compared to building, the district has borne ongoing costs associated with the P.E.O Memorial Library without a clear use to benefit the school district and the students in it.

“Over the last year, the total was $13,500 in utilities for that building,” Henriksen said, noting water and sewage backups this summer cost “just over $8,000” to remediate and that 2011-era heat pumps have reached the end of their useful life.

Several residents pressed the board to consider reuse instead of demolition:

One individual, who identified himself as a contractor with decades of rehabilitation experience said the building could hold district administration after upgrades.

“I just really think it would be possible to remodel that building into perhaps facilities for administration,” he said.

Mike Heaton, a resident that lead the charge in breathing new life into the former Iowa Wesleyan University Chadwick Library, asked the board to issue a formal request for proposals before demolition.

“If you don’t go out into the public and put out a request for ideas and request for proposal… you’re not going to have an opportunity to change that building to something else aside from demolition,” he said.

P.E.O. and Historic Preservation Commission member Lea Bradley reminded the board why the structure matters.

“The PEOs raised the money for this… as a memorial to the seven founders… in 1925,” she said, urging the district not to “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Board members split their remarks between stewardship of taxpayer dollars and responsiveness to community sentiment. Aaron Williamson cited personal ties to P.E.O. and thanked residents for their input and pushed for a pause:

“I will put forth a motion now to table this… for three months for efforts of somebody to try to come and save the building,” he said, acknowledging the district might still face spending upwards of $350,000 for demolition.

While Mike Hampton seconded Williamson’s motion, he did ask that the moratorium only extend to January 1, 2026 and argue for demolition.

“We can’t keep kicking the can down the road… Mt. Pleasant Community Schools can’t be in the business of historic preservation,” he said. “Our preservation is for our students and our faculty and our staff.”

In the end, the board agreed to table the matter until Jan. 1, 2026.

Salvage and stewardship will continue while options percolate. McNerney said P.E.O. members “were given an opportunity” to remove plaques, medallions and other items; Henriksen said Preservation Station in Burlington may salvage additional fixtures.

For now, the district will accept demolition bids on Oct. 27 but hold action while residents test whether passion can become a plan, and financing, by 2026. The P.E.O. Memorial Library’s future remains unsettled, but the board’s vote gives preservation advocates a runway to try to change its course.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com