LUMBERTON — City Council members are banking on the help of a historic preservation organization to help save the city’s old fire station on Second Street.
At Monday’s regular monthly meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall on North Cedar Street, the council will finalize its plans to use the services of Preservation North Carolina to help find private developers interested in purchasing the old building and renovating it in such a way as to maintain its historic integrity.
Councilman John Cantey, who represents the district in which the fire station lies, said during a council meeting last week that he hopes some of the developers identified as possibly being interested in the project will be local.
Cantey and other council members have also expressed their hopes that city officials and members of the community will have input in the rehabilitation process.
Earlier this year council members voted to demolish the building because it was in disrepair and renovations could cost as much as $500,000. Members reversed their decision on April 15, after a public outcry that included a petition drive. The building has been City Hall, a post office and a firehouse.
Among other business, the council on Monday will:
— Consider a request from the city’s Public Works director that a no-interest emergency loan of $493,800 be obtained from the N.C. Clean Water State Revolving Fund for sewer work.
— Grant final approval for the purchase of metal shelving for the new Lumberton Police Department building from Patterson-Pope at a cost of $98,652.
— Approve the appointment and contract for Robert Price to serve as the city’s interim attorney. Price, a former Lumberton city attorney, would replace James Bryan, who recently announced his decision to resign for family reasons.
Thank you for your efforts to preserve the firehouse. We need to keep this unique building. We need to keep this unique piece of Americana!
I would love to see the history museum located there, but if not them, then something else that would preserve it. I think you have some volunteers who said they would help the city figure out how much it would cost to renovate it, and sure,y there are some contractors in the area who would be willing to make some donations of labor to get things done,
Please push forward with this effort!