(rshsdepot) Keokuk, Iowa depot damaged

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

Both Keokuk stories via Bernie Wagenblast.

Busy day for the Keokuk Union Depot!
-From The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa):

Historic Union Depot damaged by vehicle

By P.L. Fooken
Hawk Eye correspondent

KEOKUK -- Sometimes when you need a railroad official, you can't find one,
Mayor Gary Folluo said Monday.

A backing vehicle left a 6-by-4-foot hole in the northwest corner of the
historic Union Depot Saturday night.

It is the last remaining depot designed by renowned architect John Wellborne
Root and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Folluo tried to call Pioneer Railcorp's corporate development vice
president, B. Allen Brown, all day, he said.

Folluo also looked for Brown at the city's Public Works Committee meeting at
3:30 p.m. Monday, where not only the depot but abolishing a city easement
needed for a Keokuk Junction Railway expansion were to be discussed.

Brown did not show, nor did he return Folluo's call. Pioneer owns the depot
and the railway.

"We would like to get the building buttoned up and make it secure, but I
need to talk to him first about it," Folluo said. "Then we want to make sure
that it's structurally safe."

Three Keokuk juveniles were detained at 10:49 p.m. Saturday in connection
with the accident, according to police.

Albert Keppel, 16, 1109 Estes St., was charged with drunken driving and
possession of drug paraphernalia after being involved in a one-vehicle
accident on Water Street where the depot is located.

Justin Golladay, 16, 909 High St., and Yapet Clark, 17, 1325 Franklin St.,
were charged with trespassing. They were passengers in the vehicle involved
in an accident, according to police.

The Keokuk Historical Preservation Society has been notified to take damage
pictures, Folluo said. Digital pictures will be sent to the State Historical
Society because of the depot's National Register listing.

The crash knocked out about one-half of a boarded up arch over a door. It
also knocked loose bricks and locking sandstones on the corner, Folluo said.

The public works committee tentatively set 3:30 p.m. Aug. 21 for another
meeting with Brown to discuss the depot's future and the easement.

Last week, Brown proposed to Keokuk's council a Class B common stock sale to
raise investment proceeds for the depot's renovation.

At least $130,000 is needed for roof repairs. If 50 percent of the $500,000
stock offering can be raised, the remainder would go toward stabilizing the
historic building, he said.

The easement is needed to allow an $800,000 expansion of the railway's
switchyard near the Des Moines River, Brown said.

The expansion is needed to accommodate Roquette's increased rail business,
decrease the number of rail cars being stored near Keokuk's riverfront and
the size of trains going through town.

While the issues are not tied together, councilmembers would like to see
more of a commitment from Pioneer than the stock sale "high in the sky,"
said Councilman Doug Matlick. He would like to see $50,000 to $100,000 in
seed money from Pioneer for matching grants toward the depot's renovation.

"We're very aware that he needs the easement to encourage his expansion of
his storage area. But we also know that we want to be sure that the depot is
protected in all respects for the future," said Janet Fife, public works
committee chairwoman.

For economic development reasons, Keokuk also needs the expansion and more
rail lines for its existing businesses, she said.

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #126
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