What should be done with the old city auditorium?

One problem with building something new is deciding what to do with the old.

McCook Community College will turn the old gym, True Hall, into a "physical resources facility," for housing buses and other equipment, now that the college has a modern Events Center.

Community Hospital tore down the iconic "pods" and remodeled other remaining structures when it undertook the current major building and remodeling project, so there was no question of how to best put them to use.

Now that the McCook Municipal Facility is nearly ready for use, the city is facing the question of how to use the old Memorial Auditorium.

As part of the city 2012-13 strategic plan, with includes the goal "provide McCook citizens the most efficient and effective municipal services possible," was a review of the long-range plans for the old auditorium.

Sometime in early 2013, the city plans to have a special town hall meeting to invite suggestions on the use of the municipal building.

In preparation, the city staff will tabulate and provide estimates costs, such as insurance, maintenance, utilities, etc., for maintaining the facility and possible revenue from rentals and office space, as well as an estimated value of the building.

City staff and the city council will then review the information before making any decisions.

Anyone who's spent much time in McCook has a lot of memories of events in Memorial Auditorium, from Community Concerts to sporting events, to auctions, garage sales, craft fairs and even funerals.

No, the building doesn't have the greatest acoustics, but it does have new, comfortable seats installed through a private fund drive, and, until recently, few local facilities had a capacity to rival the city auditorium.

But it will be too expensive to maintain just for nostalgic purposes.

What do you think?

Take our online poll below and when you're given the opportunity, let city officials know.