Clintonville armory discussion draws little interest

Clintonville City Administrator Sharon Eveland was disappointed with the number of people who attended a community listening session Monday night to discuss the future of the city’s rec center building, but she said she was pleased with some of the ideas, concerns and thoughts that came from the 12 people attending. “We are going to get the ball rolling,” Eveland said. “We’ve got to do something. We want to find out what the community wants.” The session was scheduled to solicit residents’ thoughts on the future of the former armory, which was built in 1922, and to hear from Pat Fehrenbach, senior architect for Short Elliott Henrickson Inc., the company that recently inspected the building. The firm found that the gym floor is unsafe and unusable for large events. The engineers said the building is safe for limited occupancy, and city staff will continue to work there. The building is also used by the Clintonville Food Pantry, city departments and the Clintonville Area Historical Society for storage. “There are issues with the building,” Fehrenbach said. “The main structural issue is with the gym floor that has steel framing with wood supports running between the framing to support the floor. Each wood support is notched and the notch of wood setting on top of the frame. The weight on the floor has caused the wood supports to split.” Fehrenbach also said the building still relies on its original boiler, which will need to be replaced, and the building is not handicapped accessible. Fehrenbach told the audience that a base remodeling would cost about $750,000. To bring the building up to code would cost at least $2.5 million and up to $3.5 million depending upon unknowns that workers might encounter. To build a similar building would cost $4 million to $5 million, he said, and demolishing the building would cost $150,000 to $160,000 depending upon asbestos and other unknowns. Fehrenbach said that the remodeling would last 10 to 15 years. Several representatives of the food pantry expressed concern that the might have to find a new location. “The food pantry is a valuable assert to the community,” Alderman Chuck Manske said. “We would not have you move out without finding a new location.” Justin McAuly, city park and recreation director, said adding a kitchen to the building would increase the building’s usefulness. Some wedding receptions are held in the building, he said, and several years ago it was used for plays and dances. Eveland said she would take the information gathered at the meeting to the park and recreation and the facilities committees, and eventually to the council. Eveland agreed with a suggestion that a survey of residents could be useful as city officials debate the future of the building. She said anyone with ideas on what to do with the building can call or visit her at City Hall.