Caretakers House will be demolished

The Winneshiek County Board voted 3-2 on Monday to release $5,000 to the Oneota Historic Future Alliance so the group can pay for the deconstruction of the Caretakers House at Wellington Place.

OHFA representative Jim Burns met with county supervisors to tell them his group has reached an agreement with NICC to use the building to teach a class on "certified deconstruction."  The agreement means a reduction in the amount of debris that will be taken to the Winneshiek County Landfill.  It also means a lower demolition cost and an opportunity to teach deconstruction skills to NICC students.

Representatives of the Caretakers Coalition also appeared at Monday's county board meeting to appeal to supervisors not to proceed with demolition.  "I'm wondering why the building has to come down," asked Kyrl Henderson.  Said Janelle Pavlovec, "There are a lot of people wanting this preserved."

But county supervisor John Logsdon, pointing out that the county board had given OHFA three years to find a use for the building, asked, "Is this going to go on indefinitely?"  County Board Chairman Les Askelson pointed out the building has been unoccupied for almost 8 years.

The measure to approve OHFA's deconstruction plans and release $5,000 to the group passed on a 3-2 vote, with supervisors Lonnie Pierce and Bill Ibanez voting in the minority.