Ottawa ? Not many Ottawa residents can recall taking a drive or walking down Main Street without a glance at the old Ottawa Middle School.

The building has been standing on the corner of Fifth and Main streets since 1917. Its reddish-brown bricks, white window sills and ledges compose a downtown landmark that represents community tradition in the eyes of many residents.

But after sitting empty for eight years, the landmark’s history may get a new chapter — or an ending.

Area preservationists have launched a letter-writing campaign to keep the old school standing. It’s a last-ditch effort to convince the school district not to demolish the building. The issue has divided the community for years.

A vote could come as soon as Monday.

Steve Foutch, of Kansas City, Mo.-based Gastinger Walker Harden Architects, represents what could be preservationists’ last hope. He has developed four renovation plans that could give the building new life.

Foutch was unavailable Wednesday for comment.

“It’s in a critical part of town, right in the middle of town, and whichever direction this goes, some improvement needs to happen,” said Ottawa Schools Supt. Jan Collins. “Steve Foutch has offered a proposal for the building, and the board needs to decide if it’s acceptable to take a chance with the offer or not.”

Engineering studies in 1996 determined the building was unsafe for students, so residents voted to build a new middle school at 1230 S. Ash St. and tear the old one down.

Since then, a battle has been waged between those wanting the building demolished and those who want to find a new use for it.

Linda Marks, who helped organize the letter-writing campaign she hopes will convince the board to save the building, said most of the community never wanted to lose the original school.

“They voted to build a new school because our children needed it, but they really didn’t want to tear that old building down,” she said. “They were standing in line to sign our petition (to save the school) in 1999, and the school board just doesn’t understand that.”

This isn’t the first time demolition has been discussed. The board has voted to demolish the building three times since it closed in 1996. A lawsuit against Unified School District 290 by Friends of Historic Buildings led to a one-year suspension of any decision regarding the building’s future. That suspension ended Wednesday.

During the past four years, the board has entertained three serious offers from prospective buyers. The first, from a Topeka developer, Pioneer Group Inc., would have sold the building for $250,000, but the deal never materialized.

The second was from another firm that offered $500,000 for the land if the building were demolished, Collins said. He said it would cost the district about $275,000 to demolish the building.

The third came from Foutch, who presented his renovation plans at a March 8 meeting but was rejected. Collins said he had heard Foutch modified those plans and would present the updated proposal Monday.

Preservationists argue the district isn’t giving serious consideration to any of Foutch’s proposals.

“He’s offered differing amounts of money and contingencies, and he’s found it would be no problem to redo this old building,” Marks said. “He’s done this to numerous old buildings, and he certainly has the track record for it.

“He would really provide something that’s a valuable asset to the community when it’s all done.”

Whatever decision the school district comes to, he said it wouldn’t be possible to make everybody happy.

“It’s probably a political decision more than a financial one either way it goes,” Collins said. “We need to make sure we try to make the best decision for the community and make the best decision from an educational standpoint.”