County to tear down ‘a tremendous piece of our history’

The years-long saga over the fate of the Judge Riddel Boys Ranch came to a close Wednesday.

After a short discussion, Sedgwick County commissioners voted 3-2 to demolish the shuttered facility and return the property to park land for Lake Afton Park.

Judge Riddel Boys Ranch operated on the shores of Lake Afton for decades as a youth residential center for troubled teens. It closed in 2014 after a funding disagreement between the state and the county.

“I’ve been aware of its value to our community for all these years.… This is a hard decision,” Chairman Dave Unruh said. “But I think now is the time to make a decision.”

The county tried unsuccessfully to sell or lease the property more than once since the ranch closed. Sedgwick County also began an alternative juvenile justice program named after Judge James V. Riddel for the same people the ranch served.

Commissioners approved a $88,500 contract with Major Abatement and Demolition, Inc. to remove asbestos from the facilities in five weeks. They also approved a $128,500 contract with H. Excavating LLC to demolish buildings and recreational features, remove debris and return the site to usable park land in about four months.

Unruh and commissioners David Dennis and Michael O’Donnell voted to demolish the facilities. They have said the ranch had fallen beyond repair since its closing.

O’Donnell said two different nonprofit groups interested in the property toured it after the county delayed a final decision in July.

“Both of these groups realized that there’s too much work to that facility,” O’Donnell said. “It was overwhelming.”

Commissioners Jim Howell and Richard Ranzau opposed demolishing the boys ranch but acknowledged that probably would be approved. They had hoped the boys ranch could find a second life through an outside group.

“It’s just a sad ending to a tremendous piece of our history,” Howell said before voting. “We’ve done some great things out at JRBR. I don’t feel like we’ve run the course. We have not hit the brick wall. We have not hit the end.”

Ranzau criticized restrictions on the property stemming from a 1966 federal grant that partially paid for a bathroom at the park.

“We have essentially relinquished control of that land, which complicates this issue significantly” Ranzau said.

He said he wants a push for federal legislation to remove the restrictions from Lake Afton altogether, which other commissioners support.

“It won’t save JRBR, but it will save us from having any problems in the future,” Ranzau said. “We can still, hopefully, work some good out of this.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 12:50 PM with the headline "County to tear down ‘a tremendous piece of our history’."