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Front Street building may become B&B, rentals
By Karyn Eckert
Two Dorchester residents offered visions last week Wednesday for the future of a village-owned building on Front Street.
The building, known as the Dalson property, has been vacant since the village took over ownership last year.
Terry Recore and his mother, Ellen, were the first to present their idea: a bed and breakfast.
“Everything in Dorchester is getting tore down,” Recore said. “It can be saved.”
The village received an estimate last year to tear down the building. However, due to the type of block the building is made of, disposal would be costly.
Recore said a local company is willing to give him a deal on windows and doors. He would install stainless steel appliances in the downstairs kitchen which would be state-approved.
Recore said there would be time limits on how long guests could stay, and most of the 12 rooms upstairs would be rented by the week and a few would be nightly. He would also create a handicapped-accessible room on the ground floor.
Board members seemed warm to the idea, but questioned if there would be enough parking. Dorchester bans overnight parking on village streets in the winter months.
Recore said trees could be removed to make room for parking on the backside of the lot.
Board members invited Recore to submit more details of the idea.
“It’s a neat concept,” said trustee Dan Krause. “It would be kind of nice to see a business plan with more details.”
Chuck Mengel was the second person to speak on the Dalson property. He proposed an apartment building using much of the pre-existing structure. He said new building codes may make a complete overhaul too costly.
Mengel said he would rent the upper apartments already there, but eight rooms may be rented on a weekly basis.
“I’ll tell you right away,” Mengel said. “We’re probably going to get a lot of Hispanics.”
He also said he would tear out the front addition and close the front entry if possible. He said he would need to check building safety codes to see how many exits it needed.
“It’s all rotten,” Mengel said. “It’s just a big old chunk of wood and steps.”
Board members also suggested Mengel return to them with a business plan. They suggested to both Recore and Mengel that they contact the Clark County Economic Development Corporation for information on low-interest loans and downtown revitalization.
By Karyn Eckert
Two Dorchester residents offered visions last week Wednesday for the future of a village-owned building on Front Street.
The building, known as the Dalson property, has been vacant since the village took over ownership last year.
Terry Recore and his mother, Ellen, were the first to present their idea: a bed and breakfast.
“Everything in Dorchester is getting tore down,” Recore said. “It can be saved.”
The village received an estimate last year to tear down the building. However, due to the type of block the building is made of, disposal would be costly.
Recore said a local company is willing to give him a deal on windows and doors. He would install stainless steel appliances in the downstairs kitchen which would be state-approved.
Recore said there would be time limits on how long guests could stay, and most of the 12 rooms upstairs would be rented by the week and a few would be nightly. He would also create a handicapped-accessible room on the ground floor.
Board members seemed warm to the idea, but questioned if there would be enough parking. Dorchester bans overnight parking on village streets in the winter months.
Recore said trees could be removed to make room for parking on the backside of the lot.
Board members invited Recore to submit more details of the idea.
“It’s a neat concept,” said trustee Dan Krause. “It would be kind of nice to see a business plan with more details.”
Chuck Mengel was the second person to speak on the Dalson property. He proposed an apartment building using much of the pre-existing structure. He said new building codes may make a complete overhaul too costly.
Mengel said he would rent the upper apartments already there, but eight rooms may be rented on a weekly basis.
“I’ll tell you right away,” Mengel said. “We’re probably going to get a lot of Hispanics.”
He also said he would tear out the front addition and close the front entry if possible. He said he would need to check building safety codes to see how many exits it needed.
“It’s all rotten,” Mengel said. “It’s just a big old chunk of wood and steps.”
Board members also suggested Mengel return to them with a business plan. They suggested to both Recore and Mengel that they contact the Clark County Economic Development Corporation for information on low-interest loans and downtown revitalization.
Other business
- DPW employee Ken Geiger reported the water plant needs a new pump. The village approved revitalizing the well earlier this year. When the crew pulled the pump out to clean the well, it was discovered to be in poor condition.
“It’s in very rough shape,” Geiger said. “It’s deteriorating and beyond rebuilding.”
The new pump will cost an additional $5,976, pushing the project’s total cost over $18,000.
Village president Dick Hunsader said the pump has been in the well since it was rebuilt around 1991.
“So it’s already had a second life,” Krause said.
A motion to purchase the new pump was approved. - Bids were opened for paving Second Street. Oium Blacktop of Eleva was the winning bidder with $26,790. Oium also had the low bid for patching several areas with $5,492.
A representative from Oium assured the board the work on Second Street would be completed before Dorchester Days. - Clerk Judy Robida reported $1,070 was donated from local businesses for flower baskets in the village.
“Which is over and above what we needed,” she said.
Extra money was used to purchase a pump for watering the flowers, and will be used to buy hangers for the baskets. Robida said she also paid a deposit to Frenchtown Greenhouse for the baskets. - Geiger said he received a second opinion on the pin setters at Memorial Hall. He said a company sent a person who spent more than an hour going over the machines. A detailed estimate showed $8,000 for parts and $9,000 for labor.
Previously, another person said it would cost no more than $8,000 to rebuild the machines. Geiger said that person was not as thorough in his examination of the machines or in detailing the estimate.
“They don’t really say what they’re going to do for that $8,000,” Geiger said.
Geiger said the second company pointed out the work wouldn’t have to be done all at once. He said slowing down the ball returns would fix some of the problem, and that would cost $3,700.
“That would help a lot,” Geiger said. - Krause said he supported the return of the youth ice cream sales in the Dorchester Days stand, but he needed more volunteers to help with the program.
“There’s a lot of things we could do,” he said. “We just need help to organize it.”
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