The Silver Lake Town Council is moving forward with a grant application to demolish the old elementary school after a council meeting Wednesday.
In May of 2020, the town council approved to demolished the old Silver Lake Elementary School that has been vacant at 202 E. Sycamore St. since 2004.
After failed attempts to save the historic building, a demolish order was put in place in May 2018.
A lot has happened in the past two years with that, which brings it to the point of the council’s application for an Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) grant.
The grant is for $350,000, with a $75,000 match from the town.
The required Phase I and Phase II environmental studies are complete. They show no hazardous materials on the property’s grounds but asbestos was were found inside, around the building’s windows and around an upstairs chalkboard.
According to a proposed timeline, the project will not be complete until August 2022.
The council is hoping Shannon McLeod, with Priority Project Resources Inc., out of Greensburg, will submit the application by April 29.
However, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology experts are seeking answers to their questions before the application and demolition move forward.
Beth McCord, DNR’s deputy state historic preservation officer, wrote in a letter regarding the property, that DNR believes the school “meets the criteria of eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places due to its historical and architectural significance.”
The DNR is requesting additional photos of the building be submitted for their review, along with answers to their questions about whether or not an assessment has been done by a structural engineer or architect versed in historic buildings, costs of rehabilitation versus demolition and what else has been done to reach the conclusion that it should be torn down.
Silver Lake clerk-treasurer Tonya Conley said they will respond to the DNR’s requests promptly and hope DNR won’t need further information so the grant application can move forward this month.
If the DNR does have more questions or needs additional information, the OCRA grant will be delayed until the next round in October, Conley said.
Also Wednesday, the council:
• Passed an ordinance to create a fund for American Rescue Plan dollars coming to the town in the amount of $190,000 which will be paid in two installments.
The council will be required to come up with a spending plan for CARES Act relief money at a later council meeting.
• Approved the purchase of GIS asset management equipment from Silver Smith for $5,600.
• Heard from Silver Lake Fire Chief John Conley the annual fire department dinner and auction is 4 to 7 p.m., or until sold out, May 8 at the fire station.
Grilled tenderloin and french fries will be available for dine in or drive through, and cost is a freewill donation.
Auction items will be out for people to look at. Metzger Auction will conduct the sales , and a listing of items is on the department’s event page. The auction will be online.
The next Silver Lake Town Council meeting is 7 p.m. May 12 at Town Hall.
