Last Updated on August 18, 2016 by cassnetwork
The state’s leading historic preservation organization has granted a loan to Logansport and Cass County officials for a new heating and air-conditioning system.
Indiana Landmarks, formerly Historic Landmarks Foundation, will loan $50,000 in funding to the city and county for the system.
“This will allow a new HVAC system to be installed this fall in advance of the kind of winter conditions that are a nightmare for unheated buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell said Thursday afternoon. “We genuinely appreciate Indiana Landmarks and its stamp of approval on the future use of the center. With help from them and others, we will be able to ensure the center will be in use for the community for generations to come.”
The mayor also announced that outgoing Parks Administrator Rich Brewer will serve as the interim director of the center. Brewer announced his resignation earlier this year. Brewer will be employed as a contractual employee with the city through the end of 2016. Brewer will continue to be paid at his current pay using existing funds from the Logansport Board of Public Works and Safety.
“Rich is somewhat uniquely qualified for this position because he grew up in a National Register eligible home virtually down the street from the center,” Kitchell said. “We’ve had several discussions about the needs of the building, its long-term master plan for the improvements it needs and the funding required to make that plan a reality. I think today’s development puts us a major step closer to that reality.”
Brewer succeeded former Parks Administrator Jan Fawley when she accepted the West Lafayette parks director’s post last year.
City and county officials including County Attorney Jeff Stanton have been working for several months on an agreement to operate the center as the first city/county war memorial in the state of Indiana. The center, formerly known as the Cass County Memorial Home, was originally established as a World War I War Memorial and housed the American Legion. When the legion post was established in the 1960s, the home continued to operate through county government until it was acquired by the city during the previous administration. Mayor Kitchell said while the county and city ultimately will be responsible for sharing capital costs associated with the building, plans call for the use of the building to make it self-sufficient through rentals for various events, and to become more of a downtown center for various local events throughout the year.
SOURCE: News release from Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell