(rshsdepot) Kendrick, ID

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From the Lewiston Morning Tribune.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Council votes to tear down old Kendrick railroad depot
Preservation  committee loses bid to save building

KENDRICK - The remnant  Kendrick railroad depot will be no more. City council 
members here voted 3-1  late Monday night to tear the aging structure down.
 
This comes despite promises from members of a preservation committee to  
secure private funding and restore the century-old building to its original  
two-story design.
 
The council vote came after more than two hours of discussion and a  
presentation by Sharon Harris, spokeswoman for the newly formed Kendrick Depot  
Preservation Committee.
 
"I can't understand not keeping an historical treasure," Harris told  council 
members. "We want to do the right thing. We just want the chance to do  the 
right thing."
 
Councilor Milt Patterson sided with Harris. "This is the first time anybody  
has come forth with this much energy," he said of the preservation committee.  
Patterson moved to lease the old depot to the committee for three years to 
see  if they could get the job done.
 
But the motion died for lack of a second.
 
The three other councilors and Mayor Dale Lisher expressed concerns about  
city liability and whether the current enthusiasm could be sustained. The site  
of the old depot has also been targeted for expansion of an RV park.
 
"I frankly don't understand the fear," Harris told the mayor and council  
members about them not granting more time to save the building.
 
But Councilor Mike Morgan said the city had already seen several years and  
more than $125,000 in grant money allocated for restoration of the depot, only  
to have the money be returned for lack of follow-through on the project.
 
"We're elected to make the decision the majority of the people will be  happy 
with," Morgan said before moving to have the old depot torn down.  Councilor 
Jeremy Alexander seconded the motion and Donna Corkill cast the  deciding vote.
 
"I'm really disappointed," Patterson said, who earlier outlined several  
reasons why restoration of the old depot would be beneficial to the entire  
community. He said it would attract people to town and, if nothing else, provide  a 
place for storing historical items and documents, and perhaps be used for  
office space.
 
But Lisher and the other councilors said the vast majority of feedback they  
have been getting from Kendrick citizens favored razing the building. Lisher  
said estimates to put a foundation under the structure were as high as  
$60,000.
 
Harris said she could not provide an estimate for total cost of restoration  
until architects and contractors took a closer look at the building. But she  
said the council could rest assured no tax dollars would be used. She said  
several private foundations had already expressed interest and several entities, 
 including the Latah County commissioners, endorsed pursuing restoration.
 
A vote on the depot's future had been scheduled for late last year, but was  
delayed when the preservationists asked for time to come up with a plan. 
Lisher  and the councilors lauded Harris and the others for their sincerity and  
professional presentation. But as it stands now, said Lisher, the depot is  
little more than an "eyesore" in the way of other plans. 
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