Marshall County officials continue exploring a potential site for the historic West Township Trustee Cabin. Parks and Recreation Board Member Deb VanDeMark says they’re looking at buying part of the old West Township School property and moving it across the street from its current location.
“There’s lots of pieces to this puzzle and we don’t know if the quotes from restoring the cabin will be feasible or not,” she recently told the county council, “but the bottom line is the landowner needs this building out of her backyard.”
VanDeMark asked the county council for $650 for the two needed appraisals, but Council Member Jim Masterson had another idea.
“You’re just asking right now then, to get money for the two appraisals of that property? And one’s $300 and one’s $350?” Masterson asked. “I think you could take care of donations for that. I’ll talk to you about that. I’ll handle that.”
The initial quote to move and restore the historic cabin came in over $200,000, but the parks and recreation board was working on getting two more estimates. The board is asking the council for $100,000 toward the project in its first-ever budget request for 2022. Board members would also seek grant funding, including money from the state’s READI program.
But VanDeMark noted that there are a lot of obstacles. “I think it’s worth continuing to check into it,” she said. “It’s pretty neat for our county. But there’s a certain limit on how much you want to spend on having something done, too.”
Other options discussed with the council included moving the cabin to the Memorial Forest or simply taking it apart and storing it.
