Pictured, from left, Council member Hugh Murfin, council member Nichole Taylor and Council President Chad Miner. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels.

SILVER LAKE — Silver Lake will begin accepting demolition bids in May for the old school building on Sycamore Street.

The decision was made at the Silver Lake Town Council meeting Wednesday, March 11, following a 45-minute discussion among town council, Silver Lake Center Foundation representatives and members of the public.

In May 2018, the building was ordered to be demolished, after having been shut down for about 10 years. 

Mike Baur purchased the building after saying he wanted to renovate it. Following Baur’s purchase of the property, the condition of the building continued to deteriorate. 

At a town council meeting in February, Attorney Karin McGrath announced that Baur’s attorney, Bruce Munson, was advised that Baur had until Feb. 21 to get a deed for the property to the town or the town would proceed with the demolition and go after ordinance violation fines Baur has racked up over the years.

An agreement was presented to council members in which Baur agreed to deed the property over to the town for $1; however, the agreement comes with conditions, which council members are not on board with.

Members of the Silver Lake Center Foundation do not want the building to be torn down. Laurie Voss and John Sonnenberg spoke on behalf of the Silver Lake Center Foundation.

Councilmember Hugh Murfin shared with Silver Lake Center Foundation representatives that a feasibility study was done recently and two contractors looked at the school. 

Murfin said there are water leaks in the roof, new restrooms would need to be installed, fire escapes would need to be reinstalled and modernized and the heating system would need to be replaced. Wiring and plumbing in the building will need to be completely redone in order to bring it up to code and the building will have to be handicap accessible.

The windows are inefficient and are not standard size windows. To replace them would be costly, Murfin said, pointing out that the best price he has found indicates a cost of $6,000 each.

Town Attorney Karin McGrath

“There are all these contingencies. Your taxes, you’re gonna have administrators, liability insurance — you’re gonna have to have all this,” Murfin said. “You’re probably looking at, at least a $2 million dollar project before you’re done.”

“The problem is right now we don’t have any rights to the building whatsoever,” Miner said. “We can enforce our demolition order, but that’s all we can do.”

Former council member Phil Shalley asked for permission to conduct “a three-minute experiment.”

After receiving approval, Shalley requested that everyone in the room stand up. 

“I would like for everybody that does not pay taxes inside the city limits to sit back down,” Shalley said. Several people sat at that time.

“Next I would like everybody who has never belonged to the JC, the Lions Club, the EMS, the fire department, the Silver Lake Days committee to sit down,” Shalley said.

By this time, the majority of those in the room were seated.

Fire Chief John Conley

Of those still standing, Shalley said, “As far as I’m concerned, these are the people you ought to be listening to because they’re the ones who’ve cared about the community for the last 40 years.”

Council President Chad Miner brought the discussion to an end, saying the town is willing to waive fines and liens if Baur deeds the property over to the town with no strings attached, but they are not willing to accept the agreement with stipulations.

“If we own the building, then we could apply for grants and could actually do things to the building,” Miner said. “I don’t know if it would be feasible.” 

Miner said it’s possible that if the building is deeded to the town, they could get grant money, save the gym and tear the rest down, then build a community center that would be attached to the gym. 

Sonnenberg said he is under the impression that Baur is willing to deed the property over as long as fees are waived.

“You’re obviously hearing something different than what we’re hearing,” Miner said. “If we did get the deed, I think at that point we would want to get community input as to what could be done with the building.” 

Sonnenberg plans to contact Munson to see if Baur is agreeable to deeding the property to the town with no conditions attached. Sonnenberg requested that the Silver Lake Center Foundation be added to next month’s agenda if the property is deeded over to the town prior to that time.

In Other News:

• Town Marshal Jason McGlennen said the spring tornado siren testing will take place at approximately 10:15 a.m. March 18. 
• The SL Volunteer Fire Department dinner and auction will be held May 9. The annual golf outing is scheduled for June 28. 
• McGlennen said the police department has been receiving complaints of dogs running loose in town. Dogs are required to be on leashes, McGlennen said, referencing a town ordinance.
• The Silver Lake Lions Club will host a fish, chicken & tenderloin fry from 4 p.m. until sold out Saturday, March 14, at the Silver Lake Conservation Building, located at 108 S. Elm St., Silver Lake.
• Charles Cunningham requested approval last month to move a mobile home inside city limits. The request was tabled at that time and was denied at the March 11 meeting.
• The next regular meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on April 8.