Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Members pleased with $7,500 price tag
The front of the former Create-A-Craft building (left), Real Reflections salon (right) and a garage in the back of the old Capitol Theatre will be torn down later this year.
The garage behind the old Capitol Theatre building.
Three more structures will hit the dust in downtown Hartley later this year.
The city council on Monday approved a bid of $7,500 from James Vogt to remove the front of the former Create-A-Craft building and tear down the former Real Reflections salon next to it. Additionally, the bid includes removal of the garage behind the old Capitol Theatre.
"It's a great price for all three," said Council Member Nick Galm.
Vogt's bid for the beauty salon included backfill dirt for the basement. It also included transportation of all building materials to the landfill.
Only one other bid was received for the three-structure project – Schmillen Construction, Inc., of Marcus, submitted a quote for $20,000. The estimate did not include backfill dirt for the salon's basement.
The majority of the former Create-A-Craft building was torn down last November. City officials kept the front of the structure to prevent creating another hole downtown, but concerns over its stability quickly arose. Barricades were placed in front of the wall and have remained there for the majority of the year.
Problems at the former Real Reflections salon were discovered shortly after Create-A-Craft was demolished.
Moisture had penetrated between both structures and went unnoticed for decades, leading to decay of the salon's north wall. The issue forced owner Tricia Elgersma to move her operations across the street to Salon West shortly after Create-A-Craft was torn down.
The Hartley Economic Development Corporation bought Elgersma's building for $20,000 and passed the deed over to the city at no cost. Elgersma later bought the Salon West building from Teri Fredericks and Lanette Pearson, and is now operating her business out of that location fulltime.
The demolition of the theater's garage is a small bite out of a much larger project. The city plans to tear down the entire structure at a later date pending assistance from the state.
Hartley officials earlier this year applied for an Iowa DNR Derelict Building Grant worth $75,000 to help with demolition of the building, but they were denied. City Administrator Roxann Swanson said the city plans to apply for the grant again in 2025. Recent estimates have the demolition project costing between $110,000-$185,000.
Asbestos and other hazardous materials were removed from the theater last summer. A DNR Derelict Building Grant worth $25,000 was used to help pay for part of the project, which was completed by Site Services, of Algona.
The city has owned the old theater since October of 2020 after acquiring it from Dwight and Darla Jacobs, of Spirit Lake. The arrangement ended months of legal wrangling, which began in 2019 after the council declared the dilapidated former theater a dangerous building on the advice of county public health officials.
The theater was built in 1925 and has a deteriorated roof, extensive interior water damage and severe mold issues.
In other business, the council approved the Outstanding Debt Obligations Disclosure Statement Report for 2024. Outstanding obligations worth $1,600,000 for the new pool and $815,000 for the new industrial park highlighted the list. Another $1,584,346.28 was reported regarding past utilities projects.
