I pointed out that the case for the Q hut being eligible for City and County TLT funds for rehab would be easy given its potential to enhance the Farmer’s Market activities. An indoor space for local artisans and vendors for Saturday market activities including expanded space for the Hoffman Center for arts and performance activities year round would additionally be possible to satisfy the funding requirements as a tourism related facility.
Local benefits included the fact that our Public Works loved the covered storage space the building provided for its equipment. And don’t forget how the EVC told us when the Underhill site was purchased, it would serve as the City site to shelter displaced locals and visitors in the event of disaster. 3,200 square feet of covered space would have been a nice addition to the EVC ability to fulfill this promise.
The costs to repair and remediate the structural issues with the Q Hut were estimated to be $260,000. Manzanita currently has almost $1 million dollars in its Tourism Fund that has to be spent on tourism related projects like the Q Hut and it struggles to spend that existing $1 million with another $285,000 forecast to be collected this budget year. Tillamook County Tourism is also begging cities to apply for annual grants for projects to pass out the growing surplus of funds that it must distribute.
Our Council could have saved an interesting architectural structure that preserved a piece of Manzanita’s history, saved $40,000 in demolition costs and kept a facility that provided all of the above community benefits that was totally paid for by visitors. Somehow the practical and financial logic of that decision escaped our City officials.
This matter reminds me of the quote that citizens should be concerned when leaders who have all the facts and proper information and still make the wrong decision.
Randy Kugler