Ask Mr. Answer Person. Ron e-mails: Have any of the bricks saved from the East Side School been sold? If so, what was done with the money? If that worked out so well, maybe they made enough money to pay to move the Caretaker's House."

Mr. Answer Person asked Deborah Bishop from the Oneota Historic Future Alliance to answer your question.  Here's what she said:

"We have not sold materials yet except for a check for $50 for 100 bricks from Lee Masonry for renovation of the Weiser Poultry House, and $20 for some remnants for the Marlowe-Saaks historic barn and milk house renovation.  A myriad of other smaller preservation reuses like Vesterheim projects, Hart building etc. have not been charged for because that, after all is the reason we saved the material to begin with.
 
Our organization is anxious to begin marketing the material locally, but the plan needs to be worked out carefully before advertising. Though we wish we could give it all away for the asking, we are trying to leverage materials sales to pay our expenses of processing, and then have money for future projects.  

Our goal so far has been segregating materials at the brick storage site, which was strictly volunteer time for two years (including Luther student service and hundreds of hours from many community members) while the good whole bricks were on the surface.  Now we are paying for the machinery through Andeon Construction (several hundred $ so far).  We need volunteers to sort and palletize as we go. Selling bricks will help pay for the skidsteer and rock bucket needed to segregate the good whole bricks.  The half bricks, brick remnants, and other material at the site, like native limestone, whole and half tiles, salvage metal and wood, is also marketable.   

Expenses for materials management also includes monthly barn rent of $50 for the amazing collection of wood.  Kasota stone from the foundation of the school has been stored free of charge.  One local artist forwards her proceeds from the sale of the East Side Art Bricks that helps so much just when the account gets low.  Salvage metal was $45 so far.

The Caretaker's House has cost us a monthly bill of around $10-15 to keep the electric service alive, (since spring of 2008).  Your question points to the fact that while our material assets are indeed great, we have no current funds to move the House.  On one hand, we need to find someone to come forward who could move it to renovate and live in it, or use as a development project.  On the other hand, the energy and work of the Caretaker's Coalition could be better placed in getting the Board of Supervisors to slow down the decision to destroy one of their assets, still assessed for $77,000.  It has been insured for $169,000 over recent years.  

It has more value as it stands to the people of our county.  Winneshiek Historic Preservation Commission and Historical Society can be consulted.  A citizen advisory group can be called on, much like the School Board asks of the Shareholders.  Our contract ran out before we had a chance to apply to Lora Friest and Resource, Conservation and Development for research and development planning.  National Register nomination also got put aside, because of the nature of the contract between the Board of Supervisors and OHFA.  Upper Explorerland is the County economic development resource who could also have input.  

We would like to see it made to be energy efficient, restored as meeting and guest space perhaps on the bike trail which needs to be extended through Freeport.  The sign in front would point to its history and that of the County Home and Farm once a 400 acre sustainable food farm with windmills, livestock and gardens.  The builder, John H. Austad, also built 130 homes, 85 barns, and a number of churches, his biggest contract being the first Aase Haugen Home the year before in 1914.