Let the bids begin as Addison Township moves forward in the next step of their plans for the Arnold School.
The Addison Township Board passed two motions during their monthly meeting June 15. The first was to purchase the building from the Addison Township Community Church at the cost of $1.
Addison Attorney Robert Davis will add to the purchase agreement a clause so the township can start working on the school while it is on the church’s property.
A second motion was approved to allow the board to solicit bids to relocate the building to the Watershed Preserve Park.
‘We want to know up front what it is going to cost to move the building,? said Davis.
Under the agreement, the township will cover volunteers who help with the auditorium relocation by allowing Supervisor Bruce Pearson to get a rider from the insurance company that will last from July 1 until the restoration is complete.
Another point of the agreement will allow the township to check for asbestos and lead before volunteers enter the building.
‘We have volunteers that are willing to start working on the school immediately,? Pearson noted. ‘It’s not in our possession right now. But for $1 we can purchase it. We can put a dumpster there and volunteers can start working on it.?
Davis plans to add to the agreement that the township will have a constinency period between ownership so the township can inspect while going through the bidding process.
‘I don’t think the church will have a problem with us investigating,? said Pearson. ‘They know our intentions are good. If we don’t buy it, if we don’t move it. It will probably be demolished.?
The township plans to start the initial work with cleaning up the school on July 11.
Bob Godkin will over see the work and tarp the roof so no more damage is done to it.
The township is still collecting donations to remodel the school, but Pearson has found someone to dig out the basement on the park site.
The township building inspector is donating his time helping with the site plan and specifications for the relocation.
‘I am very enthused about this school,? Pearson said. ‘It’s our heritage. I am spending an awful lot of my time to make this a success. I am trying and I hoping everybody will help me also. When this is all done and it’s successful, I believe it will be all worth while and we will all say we had a hand in it and did it the right way. It takes all of us to do this.?
The board has been working together with the Department of Natural Resources for approval to put the school on park property, which was what they were waiting for before they moved forward.
Donations are still being accepted to restore the Arnold School and Trustee Ed Brakefield announced at the meeting a booth will be set up during the Leonard Strawberry Festival on Saturday, July 18.
‘The committee is excited to get this thing going,? said Trustee Ed Brakefield. ‘We have a great vision for it. We are all excited. We would like Addison Township (residents) get excited with us. We don’t want the township to have to pay, we would like to see donations to get the school up there.?