The Star Beacon; Ashtabula, Ohio

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October 14, 2011

Kingsville will raze 1840s house

By MARK TODD - mtodd@starbeacon.com Star Beacon

KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP —  Despite pleas from preservationists, Kingsville Township trustees reaffirmed Wednesday night a decades-old house adjacent to the township fire hall will be demolished as soon as possible.

The action will be taken despite one man’s offer to disassemble the house at little cost to the township.

At issue is a house at 3136 E. Main St., that some residents say dates back to the 1830s or 1840s. The frame house was purchased by the township several years ago with the intention of flattening it for a fire station parking lot/expansion. It had been rented out by the township until recently, when trustees — after obtaining a demolition permit — demolished a barn on the property. Alerted, a handful of citizens asked trustees to reconsider the project, citing the house’s history.

Last month, trustees voted 2-1 to pursue demolition. Wednesday night, fans of the house made a last-ditch plea to remove the house in an orderly manner. Jim Branch, the township’s zoning inspector, offered to take down the house to the ground at his own cost to spare the township the estimated $6,000 demolition cost. Branch wanted three months to complete the task.

If nothing else, the house most likely contains beams, flooring and other lumber many would consider invaluable, said Branch, who was in the audience. “Timber like that doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.

Trustees have already agreed to let the department’s booster group try to salvage anything of value, and on Wednesday said they would try to salvage stone steps in front of the house. The house is public property, so bids would be needed before any piecemeal disassembly could begin. Weeks would pass before any such work could begin, and the house — dubbed an “eyesore” by trustees — needs to drop right away, trustees said.

People in the audience were skeptical, believing trustees could afford to wait a few months to allow someone to disassemble the house — especially if it saved the township thousands of dollars. Township crews and equipment will do the demolition work.

“There’s interest in salvaging the house,” said Kevin Meier, who is seeking a trustee seat in November.

Ensman didn’t budge. “That house needs to come down right away,” he said.

Preservationists said the house could be incorporated into the fire station, providing a kitchen, rest rooms and office space for firefighters. A building inspector who examined the house last month estimated it would cost between $80,000 and $100,000 to blend it into the fire hall, trustees have said.

That kind of money doesn’t exist in the budget, trustees said.

“That’s not the purpose the fire department wants,” Ensman said. “(The house) was originally bought to knock down and turn into a parking lot. It’s not in the best interest of Kingsville to spend that kind of money. Where would we possibly come up with that?”

The fire station sits between the house and telephone company property. “We’re land-locked as it is,” said Fire Chief Neal Stewart.

Trustee Dennis Huey, who last month voted to delay demolition, was not present Wednesday night.

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