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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
Mayor supports investigation of ways to preserve log cabin
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
With the clock ticking on a city-owned log cabin, Wapakoneta Mayor Rodney Metz says he is willing to give time toward a possible collaborative effort to save the building.
Metz told the Wapakoneta Daily News he would be open to extending the deadline to provide time for a citywide effort proposed by the Auglaize County Historical Society Board of Trustees to materialize and to work toward a possible solution.
“I, as the mayor, have no problem with giving the process more time because we do have the facility,” Metz said. “We will need to address some safety issues so as long as the process doesn’t draw out real long then I don’t see a problem with waiting.
“We all want to do what is best for the community,” he said.
Metz said there are problems with the roof and the structure of the log cabin, which was built nearly 70 years ago from two existing structures. He believes these problems will only get worse over time.
The mayor said he wants to know where the Historical Society board members are at in their process and what amount of time they believe may be needed to move forward. He also would like to know what kind of feedback they are receiving about the log cabin.
“I have no problem talking with them on this issue,” Metz said. “I will say it again — we all want to do what is best for the community.”
The structure built in the late 1930s or early 1940s was given to the Wapakoneta Police Auxiliary in 1975.
The group was to maintain the structure with materials provided by the city.
The auxiliary forwarded a letter to the city that they do not want the facility.
Auglaize County Historical Society Administrator Rachel Barber addressed the issue. County Historical Society Board President Karen Dietz could not be reached for comment.
Barber said board members voted in favor of Dietz writing a Letter to the Editor and submitting it to the Wapakoneta Daily News. The letter appeared in Tuesday’s edition.
The same letter was sent to city administrators.
“The decision the board members reached was that we would certainly like to be involved in a solution for the log cabin, but we don’t think we can bear the sole responsibility for the solution and that it needs to be a collaborative effort,” Barber said. “In the letter, Karen requests city administrators organize a public forum and involve as many interested parties and persons as possible.”
In a Letter to the Editor from Dietz, she said the organization “is not responsible for any lack of building maintenance” of the structure, “nor does it wish to become the owner of last resort for historic structures.”
The letter encourages city administrators and elected officials to host a public forum on the issue involving interested parties.
The groups listed in the letter who might have a possible stake in the log cabin included the Downtown Wapakoneta Partnership, Wapakoneta Antique and Specialty Shops and Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council.
“The Auglaize Historical Society will gladly participate in such a collaborative effort,” Dietz said in the letter. “Let us work together as a community to determine the best course of rehabilitation and reuse for this and Wapakoneta’s many other historic buildings.” |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 May 2008 )
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