The historical significance of a Queen Anne-style home threatens to delay the construction of a new law enforcement center in Oconto.
According to the Department of Natural Resources, Oconto County must wait for state historical experts to rule whether the architecture of the Antoine Martineau Home located in the footprint of the LEC is historically significant. The home is one of 14 properties the county purchased north of the courthouse that are slated for demolition this spring.
“That might put a monkey wrench in this whole process,” Oconto County Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann said at Wednesday’s meeting of the public property and law enforcement/judiciary committees, which are overseeing the project.
The home at 619 Park Ave. is located where a parking lot is proposed, and until the county has the OK from the Wisconsin Historical Society, the home can’t be demolished.
“This could take weeks, if not months,” Hamann said.
“Oh boy!” responded Gerald Beekman, chairman of the law enforcement/judiciary committee.
Hamann described the latest setback as “just another speed bump” for the county to overcome before construction of the LEC can begin in late July.
Online historic records describe Antoine M. Martineau as a leading merchant in Oconto, head of the Goodrich and Martineau Company and president of the Farmer’s Bank. He was born in 1858, and died of heart trouble in 1917.
According to his obituary, “He had lived here practically his whole life and from the time he reached a sufficient age, had been active engaged in the business life of the city and in all movements tending to its development and that of the entire northeastern portion of the state.”
According to consultant Kurt Berner, once the storm water application was submitted for the project, the DNR researched the properties scheduled for demolition and discovered the Antoine Martineau Home listed on the Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory.
The DNR requires that an architectural historian evaluate the property and consider its impact to history.
The home is not listed on the state’s historic register, and Berner described its condition as “nearly condemnable.”
Before granting a release, the Wisconsin Historical Society historian might request high resolution photos of the outside of the home, especially the porch and front door.
His evaluation of the home is scheduled to take place this month, and Berner was optimistic the county will have a an authorized release within a few weeks. If this occurs, demolition of the home can proceed as scheduled in mid-May.
On Wednesday, the public property and LEJ committees reviewed demolition bids from seven companies before agreeing to recommend to the County Board the low bid of $147,600 from Statewide Razing, of Combined Locks. The County Board is scheduled to act on the bid April 23, with demolition work to begin as early as the following day and wrap up by June 1.
Hamann said the demolition process will start with tree cutting, followed by the demolition of the houses.
The houses will not be demolished in a row. Instead, those requiring no asbestos or lead paint remediation will be demolished first, he said.
The Oconto Fire Department plans to perform training exercises and burn down two of the homes.
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