DARRINGTON – As Valentine’s Day approaches, residents here are going to have to decide just how big a heart they have, and how much memories are worth.
Town officials want to hear what residents want done with Darrington’s old, run-down city hall building.
To make the old city hall structurally sound would cost $190,000. To bring it up to code would cost $422,000. To replace it would cost $775,000 or more.
For a town with an annual budget of $1.5 million, that’s a big price tag.
Some residents have expressed interest in saving the 1940s-era building, even though it was replaced by the new City Hall and library on the other side of town in 1990.
For many, it was the place where they met their sweetheart for a first dance. Others remember it as the old fire hall and jail. More recently, it served as a food bank and a haunted house on Halloween.
The years have worn the concrete-block building, and the 2001 Nisqually earthquake was the final blow that shut it down because of structural concerns.
Residents will have the chance to offer their opinions at a meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 10 at Darrington Community Center, 570 Sauk Ave.
In 2004, engineers told the Darrington Town Council that demolishing the 6,000-square-foot hall and building a new community hall would cost at least $775,000.
The engineers said the structural problems could also be fixed by renovating the building for $190,000.
But other repairs to bring the building up to electric and fire codes, plus providing handicapped access and paying for design fees, would jack up the total renovation cost to $422,000.
Still, the sentimental ties are strong enough that some people have been brainstorming ways to raise the money.
Lavinia Bryson, a former town council member who serves on the Darrington Planning Commission, said some officials are looking into community development block grants from the federal government.
A variety of groups have expressed interest in using the building if it is rehabilitated.
“We’ve sort of been kicking around if people wanted to save it with village atmosphere with the historical society, the family resource center, the food bank, DJAA (the Darrington Junior Athletic Association), Darrington Performing and Visual Arts – whoever is interested at this point,” Bryson said.
Despite the building’s wear and tear, engineers said it is salvageable.
“Overall, except for the leaks in the roof on the southwest corner of the building, the structure is in relatively serviceable condition,” Gary Parkinson, an Everett-based architectural consultant, wrote in a letter last summer.
The roof should be repaired immediately, he added, since water damage is affecting all three levels of the wood framing. Other than that leaky area, Parkinson said the rest of the roof is sound.
Mayor Joyce Jones said a temporary patch was applied to the roof recently to prevent further damage while the town considers its options.
Bryson acknowledged that while the old building might be a diamond in the rough to some people, others see it as a blight not worth resurrecting. She hopes the meeting in February will give town officials a clearer idea of what people want.
“We definitely want to go forward with what the majority of the city wants us to do with that building,” Bryson said.
Jones said she wouldn’t be surprised if residents find a way to save the building.
“Darrington might be a small town, but we have a big heart,” she said.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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