Members of the Willow Springs Community Foundation got some positive news from city council members at a special meeting held Monday regarding a downtown building at risk of being demolished; a project to restore the building has been ongoing for a few years.
City council members voted to commit a loan of $100,000 toward completing the project, as a matter of public purpose and benefit.
The McClellan Building, at the corner of Main Street and Center Street in Willow Springs, was declared an unsafe building by city officials last December. Since then, fencing has been installed around the sidewalks that run alongside and in front of the structure to keep pedestrians from walking too close to it.
The precaution is not for nothing; in March 2021, a block south of the McClellan Building, a building that housed the former Curtis Department Store collapsed. No one was hurt when the building fell, but the incident did bring attention to the potential danger presented by such buildings, some of which have been empty of tenants and neglected for an extended time.
The restoration project has also highlighted the typical struggles faced by many small communities interested in preserving the past, not to mention the charm and commercial and historical value of such buildings. But with that, there are often legalities, finances and the public interest to consider, and that hasn't been any different with the McClellan Building.
This particular project also had the misfortune of being underway when the coronavirus pandemic hit, adding delays in availability of contractors, materials shortages and higher prices, and lack of available funding to the mix.
But now there is a glimmer of hope in the form of financial support from the city government. A start date on the project is estimated to be around Thanksgiving, after numerous delays in getting studies done, cost estimates generated, and solid commitments from contractors.
Dean Aye, speaking on behalf of the community foundation, presented a proposal to city council members on Monday from Rio Contracting with an estimated $418,735 price tag, and asked the city for assistance in the amount of $100,000.
City Administrator Beverly Hicks said, during that meeting, the decision would come down to the city either investing the funds in the future of downtown Willow Springs as a loan to the foundation to preserve the structure, or to invest in demolishing a building that takes up a third of a city block.
Hicks told council members the city has $50,000 in reserves from sales taxes and an additional $50,000 in reserves earmarked for economic development used to benefit the public, like economic development, downtown revitalization and historic preservation. The pledge of those funds would also buy the foundation some time for project completion, Hicks said.
Throughout the preservation process, city officials have been compelled to set deadlines for progress in the interest of public safety, while allowing some flexibility in those deadlines as long as progress was demonstrated by the foundation’s members.
Aye told city council members the Willow Springs Community Foundation uses government grant funds to build houses, then uses the proceeds from selling the houses to further invest in other areas of the community. He noted there are three houses the foundation expects to put up for sale in 2025 with proceeds that could potentially be used to help repay the city.
Council members voted on a motion by Alderman Phil Knott and seconded by Alderman Danny Bradley to move forward with a partnership with the community foundation, passing it without opposition. Alderwoman Kim Rich and Alderman Tyler Morris were present for the vote. Mayor Brooke Fair was absent.
Council members will also hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, beginning with a closed session to discuss legal and personnel issues, to be followed by an open session at about 6:30 p.m. in city council chambers, 900 W. Main St. in Willow Springs.
The topic of new business will be a 2024 budget work session.
