By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Yukon city leaders have agreed to demolish the former Yukon lumberyard just north of Main Street instead of renovating the ramshackle building.
The Yukon City Council on July 6 designated the property at 24 S 4th Street as surplus “for the purpose of demolition.”
“We’re going to put down sod after it’s demo-ed and cleaned up,” Yukon City Manager Tammy Kretchmar explained.
“It could be used for parking. We just didn’t put anything in the budget for it.”
The council in December 2019 approved paying $420,000 for the site, which includes seven tracts of land near the former Yukon lumberyard.
The City of Yukon acquired the downtown property from Stan and Renee Lingo of 4812 Lingo Holding LLC, with an eye toward future downtown development.
A farmer’s market, arts and crafts markets, food truck rallies, and concerts are just some possible uses envisioned for the property.
Ward 4 City Council Member Aric Gilliland at the July 6th meeting asked whether this new open space could host permitted activities – like a farmer’s market or concert – after the building is demolished.
“It could be,” Kretchmar replied. “We would just have to go through the proper channels.”
So, it won’t be “useless space” and can be used for “any number of things,” Gilliland confirmed.
Vicki Davis, director of Yukon’s Best Main Street, spoke to the city council May 2 to share ideas about what could be done if the City of Yukon kept the lumberyard structures.
SHE IS SAD
Mayor Shelli Selby said she was “sad” about having to tear down the old lumberyard built by the Warr family.
“I love that building,” Selby said. “But it has been looked at by two engineers, and it’s not found to be structurally safe.
“I would have loved to have saved the building and refurbished it. But it’s just not meant to be.”
City of Yukon engineering firm TEIM Design did not recommend “proceeding with the reuse of rehabbing of the existing structures,” Assistant City Manager Mitchell Hort wrote in a June 30th memo to council members.
The city’s insurance provider will not insure the property in its current condition, Hort added.
ODDS AND ENDS …
In other business at their July 6th meeting, the Yukon City Council approved:
- A lease agreement with Pafford EMS to rent the former fire station two, 102 S Ranchwood, for $2,200 per month through June 30, 2022. Pafford will get a $16,950 credit for needed roof repairs. This central location will allow Yukon’s ambulance company to provide faster response times, officials said.
- Drainage ditch repairs for erosion mitigation on the north side of the Bass Bridge between Kouba and Yuhoma. Brewer Construction will complete the project at a cost of $25,067.46. Ward 3 Council Member Donna Yanda believes residents will benefit greatly from these long-awaited, needed improvements.
- An amendment to the State Highway 4 (phase two) waterline relocation project, increasing the contract $40,800 to $581,949.
- An agreement with HBC CPAs and Advisors to prepare the City of Yukon audit for fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The approximate cost is $29,350.
