Letter to polk county

Kay Hegge Prairie Skyline Foundation 27048 310th ST SW Crookston, MN 56716 September 7, 2010 Polk County Board Commissioners Government Center 612 N Broadway Crookston, MN 56716 We, the voters have already been taxed for the costs of demolition of the Wayne Hotel and are here to ask you to put part of this money toward construction, not destruction of our Historic Downtown Commercial District. Picture this: Let’s assume for the moment that the $600,000 demolition estimate is correct, and you, the Commissioners want to get finished with the building forever. We have an estimate from JLG Architects that tells us we can stabilize the building for an estimated cost of $323 thousand and you will still have $277 thousand to give back to the taxpayers or use at your discretion. We propose that you donate the Wayne Hotel and the $323,000 to our non-profit foundation and we will immediately stabilize the building, remove the hazardous materials, and put on a new roof. This accomplishes several priorities for you: hazardous material abatement which you have to do anyway, it avoids the cost of insurance and your liability for damaging adjacent buildings, and provides a clean smelling attractive building rather than an unattractive alleyscape on Highway 2 and 75 for the world and our community, our children, and our grandchildren to see. We understand that for years you have struggled with the problem of what to do with tax- forfeited properties, and there are no easy & quick answers. We too have been searching for a strategy that can work for historic downtown Crookston. We too were hoping that Metro Plains could pull a funding package together by the County’s deadline. Our strategy consists of making Crookston a haven for artists of all cultures, their works, and their creativity. We already have great buildings, great museums, and Glacial Ridge; we have many arts groups under the umbrella organization, Valley Crossing Arts Council, and a river. We do not have a Fair, an Artists Gallery, a dedicated theatre performing space, a trolley, or horse drawn carriages, yet. In order to become, the “Stillwater of the North,” there is no time to lose. We have offered three ideas for the City Council to consider regarding the Hotel. They are not interested at this time. Most people including the Council were surprised to learn Page one of two

Page two that these old buildings were built so that if a fire occurred, and it usually did, the floors would go first and the walls would stand to protect people next door. The ideas we have for the building all begin with the stabilization of the building, which Brian J. Carlson has estimated at $323 thousand. This model of donating the building and the stabilization costs to a non-profit entity can serve as a model for similar situations in Crookston or any of the towns in Polk County. Thirty years from now when the building needs a new roof, your Board and our Board leadership will have changed and they will say of us that we came up with a good solution to deal with tax forfeited buildings. You will be able to donate them immediately after forfeiture saving much needed tax dollars. Please carefully review this offer and accept the chance to be part of constructing new opportunities in the County Seat. Yours truly, Kay Hegge Board Chair

Letter to polk county

by Prairie Skyline Foundation, Inc. on Sep 08, 2010

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Letter to polk county — Document Transcript

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