Historical Society?s lease agreement rent free until 2009, funding will have to be found thereafter

A decision was reached at Monday?s Onaway City Commission to allow the Onaway Historical Society to occupy space rent-free at the Onaway Courthouse for the next three years, but after that the group will have to find a more stable source of funding.

The commission established a lease fee of 26.7 cents per square foot, which comes to $363.65 per month, and rounded that figure to $350 a month, but will waive any cost because the historical society assisted with major repairs to the building before mothballing their artifacts for a couple of years. The historical society emptied its bank account to the tune of about $12,000 to patch the outside of the building prior to restoration.

City manager Joe Hefele said it was done ?In order to keep the building from deteriorating to the point that it wasn?t safe.? He said the rent free agreement allows the museum to stabilize its funding and replenish its savings.

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY is in the process of moving back into their 98-year-old former home, but there have been major changes since the museum had its displays available for viewing by the public.

There has been major renovation work to the interior and exterior of the building, plus there is less space available. There are also new tenants.

The Presque Isle District Library, Onaway Area Chamber of Commerce, along with city offices, all occupy parts of the first and second floors. The third floor cannot be occupied or renovated until it becomes accessible to people with disabilities.

Both the library and chamber are paying rent, which is being used for the upkeep of the city landmark, which will be celebrating its 100th birthday in two summers.

In discussions about a possible lease, city officials wanted to be fair with all the entities involved.

The chamber and library are paying for their space. The library?s rent is 26.7 cents per square foot for 2,800 square feet, while the chamber?s rent is 30.3 cents per square foot for 132 square feet.

The historical society was interested in the two west display rooms and the main courtroom north of the wood partition, along with a little nook on the northern most room.

HEFELE BELIEVES the agreement is fair not only to the museum, but to others who have been paying rent for courthouse space. ?Like the other rent paid for courthouse space, the funds would be put in the courthouse fund for future repairs and maintenance,? said Hefele. ?This should be important to the museum, since the building is a key part of its operation.

?I think the thought is to give the historical society some time to try and identify membership structure that allows them to pay this type of rent.?

Mayor Gary Wregglesworth said ?The city is not trying to make money ? the money just goes into a pot so this building can be maintained.? Wregglesworth said he would be willing to donate $50 a year to the museum to help support the historical society, when they do have to pay the $4,200 per year for rent after 2009.

Kelli Stockwell, who serves as Onaway city clerk as well as president of the historical society, said her group?s main concern is security, especially in the courtroom where the only barrier is a three-foot wooden partition that could easily be climbed over.

CITY COMMISSIONER Bernie Schmeltzer said any group using the courtroom for an activity, meeting, or presentation would be re

sponsible for anything that happened or came up missing. In making the area more secure, there was some discussion about a locked plexiglas barrier.

?It is hard for me to envision anyway you can make that anymore secure without spending a ton of money, or putting in something ugly that nobody wants,? said Hefele.

The three-year agreement would begin September 1. The museum will not be open to the public in the winter and the heat will be turned down in the two display rooms during the off season months. As part of the agreement, the museum would not be required to pay for heat or electricity.

At Wednesday?s meeting of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners, District 1 commissioner Bob Schell said he would bring a request for a donation from the county board as the society goes through the process of setting up the displays again.

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