Transfer complete

Lighthouse Society makes plans for their new acquisition

By CARL E. FEATHER

Lifestyle Editor

The northern-most piece of real estate in Ashtabula has a new owner.

Transfer of the Ashtabula Lighthouse was recorded at the Ashtabula County Courthouse April 9, says Bob Frisbie, historian of the Ashtabula Lighthouse Restoration and Preservation Society, the light's new owner.

"This has taken us about five years since we originally formed," says Joe Santiana, president of the nonprofit organization. "This has been a very, very long road with potholes, detour signs ... as we put together the information required by the government for it to relinquish ownership."

Fifteen charter members organized the society Nov. 27, 2001, after they learned of the Coast Guard's plans to release Great Lakes lighthouses from their inventory. The group was formed so a nonprofit entity would be in place in the event of Ashtabula's lighthouse being among them.

For several years, the group worked to lease the lighthouse from the Coast Guard, but Santiana says that ended up being a dead end because of insurance issues. In September 2004, the General Services Administration (GSA) transferred the lighthouse to it's surplus property list, which made the structure available to purchase.

The group soon encountered a major snag germane to all lighthouse transfers in Ohio and Michigan: bottom land issues. Santiana says the GSA actually removed the lighthouse from the list once it became aware of the issue. The officers responded by contacting senators and representatives; Ohio Rep. George Distel got involved and within two weeks of meeting with the group had worked out a resolution.

Santiana says Distel's work on the issue opened the door for not only the Ashtabula Lighthouse, but others on the southern shore of Lake Erie and on Lake Michigan to go on the GSA's list. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources leases the lake bottom under the lighthouse and the Army Corps of Engineers leases the breakwater space to the lighthouse owner.

"That opened a door for us almost two years ago to get that light on the list permanently," Santiana says.

In May 2005, the GSA held an open house at the lighthouse to give prospective buyers a chance to look at the property. A preservation group in the state of Washington was the only other interested party, and it backed out when the strong interest of the local group became apparent.

Santiana and the other officers - Vice President Lloyd Bogue, Secretary Lorna Greicius and Treasurer Debbie Santiana - went to work on the daunting application process. Joe Santiana says the group's application was subject to review by numerous governmental agencies, and five copies of every application had to be submitted. The application underwent three complete rewrites; by the time they got to the third revision, the packets had grown to more than 150 pages each.

"The terms they used were so vague, you had to guess what they were looking for in answers," says Santiana. "The original application is so vague, that if you have never done this before, it's like being blind in the dark."

The men give estimates of 500 to 1,000 man hours invested in the acquisition.

Why were they so determined to save it?

"I'm a lighthouse lover myself," says Santiana, who once drove with his family to Maine to purchase their own lighthouse, but arrived as another buyer was finalizing the deal. "And for some untold reason, there is a growing number of people who have a strong attachment to lighthouses. For some, it's a romantic appeal, for others, it's spiritual, and there are others who are fascinated with that part of our history. We have a mix of those people in our organization."

All of the officers point to the tourism draw of a lighthouse. Santiana says studies have shown that communities with a lighthouse will draw 3,000 to 5,000 visitors per year just for that attraction.

"We feel it will help the area as far as tourism goes," says Santiana.

Historical preservation is another prime reason for acquisition. Frisbie says lighthouses were beacons for economic development in the communities they served, and Ashtabula was no exception.

Ashtabula has had three different lighthouses in four locations during it's history as a harbor. The current lighthouse was built in 1905 atop a new breakwater. The stone breakwater was extended in 1915 and the lighthouse had to be moved 1,200 feet, to it's present location.

The lighthouse was manned until 1973; at the time, was the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes. The lighthouse keeper's residence eventually became the home of the Marine Museum. Santiana points out that the Restoration and Preservation Society and the Marine Museum are two separate entities, although they support each other's work. The Fresnel lens from the lighthouse is on display in the museum.

Modern-day commercial lakes traffic depends upon the Global Positioning System and other technology, making lighthouses unnecessary. Frisbie says the lighthouse will continue to house some Coast Guard equipment in it's light tower as part of the transfer agreement.

Santiana says the group had to detail their plans for the lighthouse and present a five-year budget for it's preservation, restoration and use. The first year budget is $50,744 and focuses on stabilization, temporary repairs, security and construction of a dock for easier access. The group is going into the project with about $30,000 in it's treasury.

The officers say they are counting upon grants and, to a lesser degree, fund-raisers to help them stretch that money. They also have a wish list of supplies and equipment that, if donated to the society, would stretch the dollars.

Santiana says there are numerous sources for restoration and preservation grants, but they need the expertise of volunteer grant writers who can help them tap into that money.

The long-term vision for the lighthouse is to use it as an educational resource; they emphasize it will not be a bed and breakfast and overnight stays at the lighthouse are not on the agenda.

Frisbie says they envision restoring the first and second floors, which were lighthouse keeper quarters, to the 1915-1950s era.

"We would like to show on the first floor what it was like to be a keeper," Santiana says.

"It would begin in a museum atmosphere on the first floor," Frisbie says. The bottom level, which once stored the generators and compressors, would be converted to an educational theater where presentations about the lighthouse and local maritime history would be offered.

Access to the light tower would be very restricted, say the officers.

It will be several years before public access to the entire light will be possible, unless the group gets a huge influx of funding for restoration and safety improvements. Access will be by boat only unless a walkway can be built along the west breakwater. Frisbie says the group is in need of a boat that will allow them to access the lighthouse at will; presently, they have to depend upon boats provided by the Coast Guard or Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Frisbie says any work done to the lighthouse will have to follow historical preservation and environmental guidelines, thus most of it will go to contractors who specialize in this type of work.

"The majority of it is so complex and long, it would not be able to be done by members standing on a ladder," says Frisbie.

"For liability purposes, 85 percent of the work will probably have to be contracted out," Santiana says.

To view the society's wish list of items needed to secure the property and make temporary repairs to the lighthouse, go online to www.ashtabula lighthouse.com.

Star Beacon Print Edition: 5/10/2007

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