The Three Rivers City Commission passed a resolution Tuesday supporting the sale of the historic former Carnegie Library building at 109 N. Main St. to the Carnegie Center for the Arts (CCA). The resolution is corrected over previously filed versions with an updated legal property description. CCA occupies the building, which adjoins a historic former bank and a newer building that it already owns.
City Attorney J. Patrick O’Malley said the next step is to negotiate a buy/sell real estate purchase agreement between the City and the Carnegie Center. That agreement would be ready sometime in August, City Manager Joe Bippus said.
CCA Board President Ben Smith said the building needs about $180,000 in rainwater water damage repairs based on current estimates, which could rise as those needs are further evaluated. He said the CCA is willing and able to fund those repairs once it owns the building.
Currently, the Three Rivers Woman’s Club leases the building from the city and sublets it to the CCA. The Woman’s Club also uses part of the building. Mayor Tom Lowry said the Woman’s Club requested that the city not proceed with a buy/sell agreement until both the CCA and the club agree to lease terms.
At odds are issues of access. Currently, the Woman’s Club does not have a key to the building. It must schedule building access with CCA staff. Without its own key, it would have to negotiate terms under any lease going forward for when and how which it can have access. Smith said there are security concerns regarding the contents of the building. Currently, only top members of the Carnegie staff have keys.
Gary Armstrong, also a CCA board member, said, “we just don’t like to have keys wandering around and people wandering onto the premises. We have several board members that are artists, and they came out very vehemently saying, you know, ‘people have their wares there.’ They pride themselves of it. Most of you have seen the displays, and they’re quite of value. Why run the risk? From the time I’ve been a board member, this hasn’t been an issue at all.”
Armstrong said he has recognized the Woman’s Club’s contributions, but that the ongoing dispute was “of no substance at all.” Smith said he would “like to make it clear that from the time that this all started, the Carnegie Center board has been adamant about not depriving the Woman’s Club of the usual things that have been present in the lease prior to this time.”
Lowry, whose father directed the CCA in its early years, provided some historic background on the relationship between the two organizations and the building. After the Three Rivers Public Library moved out in the 1970s due to the long-term structural impacts of its book collection, the Woman’s Club entered into a lease with the city in 1980 to save the building from demolition. The club funded the building’s restoration and established the CCA to open the building to the public for the arts.
“That building would not be there and the (CCA) would not be there if it were not for the Woman’s Club,” Lowry said. Woman’s Club member Jenny Koski said the club has donated funds through the years for upkeep and maintenance on the building, and in support of the CCA’s various programs.
Smith said the CCA’s insurance policy rates dictate why it cannot provide key access. Lowry said he wanted to see what the extra insurance costs for providing a key to the Woman’s Club might be and suggested the club could pay the difference. At-large City Commissioner Clayton Lyczinski II said, “as a commercial insurance agent, I do know that the cost is minimal if nothing to add additional keyholders there, so I would not get hung up on that.”
Lowry said the Woman’s Club indicated one person would sign for a key and accept all liability for having it. Speaking to Smith, he said, “So bottom line then, you could make a second key and it would resolve everything yesterday. I wish your board would consider that seriously because there is serious precedent for that.”
Lyczynski said, “I do agree with the mayor that the Woman’s Club history validates them being secure with us moving forward,” Lyczynski suggested that it would be wise for the Woman’s Club to have liability insurance as part of its negotiations. Based on his knowledge of the club’s members he said he “couldn’t imagine them not taking it seriously.”
At-large Commissioner Daryl Griffith agreed with Lyczynski. Both commissioners supported passing the resolution “with the understanding that we expect these two groups to come together before we finalize that agreement. I really wish we’d gotten there by now, it’s been, what, seven months? I have to agree with (Lowry), the key sounds pretty piddly. If that’s what’s holding this agreement up, you’ve got to find a way.”
An issue of rent is also in question, according to Lowry. As he described it, the Woman’s Club has traditionally donated $3,000 to the CCA, which has now asked for a $3,000 rent payment on top of other fees going forward.
Although the motion supporting the resolution passed, Lowry and Third District Commissioner Chris Abel both cast no votes. “I think we need to honor the group that created the Carnegie,” Lowry said.
Project Amendments Passed
Several items related to ongoing projects were approved Tuesday. Previously, at its July 7 meeting, the commission approved an agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for reconstruction work on 4th Street. The work requires an upfront cost of $280,650 on the city’s part.
Lowry said the amount is previously budgeted for the current fiscal year, and the city has the money. According to Department of Public Services (DPS) Director Amy Roth, MDOT will reimburse the amount at the start of its fiscal year on October 1, minus administrative costs. The commission approved a purchase order for the full amount requested.
Also approved was an agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to extend an existing grant through July 31, 2021. The grant funds work on the Meyer Broadway Trail project. Bippus said the project has been slow-moving due to background paperwork and arrangements to relocate utilities.
Also in City Commission Business:
- Commissioners approved a lease transfer for a hangar at Haines Municipal Airport. The transfer awards a hangar lease currently held by Mel Pamment to a person named Brian Klenoski. The lease will continue under existing terms. Bippus said there are no empty hangars at the airport, and there is a waiting list for hangar space.
- Second District Commissioner Alison Haigh said several citizens asked her about a green car that is parked at the fire station with several flat tires and other issues. The citizens were concerned about the city having dual standards for code enforcement. Bippus said the car was being used by the fire department as a training car for extrications and rescue operations. Fire Chief Jeff Bloomfield said he would take address it on Wednesday.
Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
