Decision on hangar study will have to wait for another day

While construction of a new hangar at the Presque Isle County Airport in Rogers City is a step closer to starting with action taken last month by the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners, something has to be done with the 67-year-old hangar building on the opposite side of the airfield. Tear it down or fix it up? If a pair of commissioners have their way, the building, which they believe needs a lot of work, would come down. The situation, though, is complicated, according Mary Ann Heidemann, County Development Commission director.

Heidemann appeared at last Friday’s board meeting to present a proposal to conduct a feasibility study of the old hangar building. The hangar, constructed in 1937 by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Work Progress Administration, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the 300-foot rock sign on the grounds of the airport. Heidemann received a written proposal from Wigen, Tincknel, Meyer & Associates, a firm from Saginaw which specializes in preserving historic structures and is currently working on the courthouse in Onaway. The cost of the study would be $7,450.

THE PROPOSAL would explore options for an adaptive reuse of the building and Heidemann has identified a couple of local grant sources to pay some of the costs, with the EDC picking up the rest. Potential uses for the building include a future home for the offices of the CDC, possible archival storage for the county, or the leasing of space. Heidemann said the facility could be used as a business training center, making grants available for computers and other materials. Commissioner Robert Schell is opposed to the proposal because he doesn’t want county offices located so far away from the main road.

“I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate all you do for the county,” Schell said, “and I love you like a sister, but I don’t think that’s a practical place to put them (county offices).” Schell said there’s also the potential cost of the proposed project with the needed infrastructure improvements, including road, water, and sewer extensions. The roof also leaks.

“I MEAN WE’RE talking about a lot of costs there that are not going to be covered under any grants,” said Schell. “As far as using those buildings for archival storage, that’s fine, but we could spend a lot of money studying a proposal of what it takes to make a pig fly, but is the cost practical?” Schell said he doesn’t need a study to tell him what the county needs to do with the building. “Personally, this building is just a money pit,” said commissioner Gary Wozniak. “If you realize how much money you were going to put int

o this building, you could add on to the old airport hangar and put a modern office facility that would fit everybody.” The problem is the county accepted federal funds for the rehabilitation of the airport last year and agreed to be the steward of the building.

“You would not be able to bulldoze it down without going through a two-year process with the state historic preservation office,” said Heidemann. When the CDC applied for land release status, a line was drawn around the old hangar and the “Rogers City” rock sign and those properties were not released, according to Heidemann.

“THAT IS, THE county had to pledge, as a part of environmental assessment, to maintain the stewardship of those properties,” said Heidemann. “So, subsequently, when the county sold the development lots to the EDC, neither the hangar nor the ground around it was a part of that. It could not be a part of it.” Heidemann had approached the board at an earlier date to receive permission to investigate grant funding sources. She talked with officials with the Michigan Department of Transportation, which assisted with the runway extension, but the hangar is not eligible for any MDOT grant programs. While chairman Allan Bruder believes the study to be a “good idea” there was no vote on it as the issue was sent back to the Courthouse and Grounds committee for further discussion.

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