Heritage Center asks for public support

Officials of the city of Havre and Hill County will consider pooling resources to help support the Heritage Center after hearing an appeal by the Heritage Center Committee Thursday night.

Also on Thursday, Clack Foundation vice president Elaine Morse said that after the Soroptimist Home Tour and a large donation by a private individual, the center has raised enough for the $10,000 match to replace the center's roof, and that she expects it to be finished this year.

A group of current and former Clack Foundation board members, Havre City Council members, Havre Mayor Bob Rice, Hill County Commissioner Kathy Bessette and concerned citizens met for two hours to discuss the future of the historic building, which has been plagued by funding shortages and needed repairs.

The city bought the building from the U.S. Postal Service for $150,000 in 1996. The Clack Foundation leased the building from the city and has continued to pay to keep the building running.

"Our main purpose for coming here tonight is to find the funds to maintain, repair and save the building," City Council president Rick Pierson told the group.

"I think we need to save it for the temporary time and get in gear later," Bessette told the group after a discussion of ways to eventually make the building more self-sustaining. She asked Morse how much the center needs on a monthly basis.

"What I'd like from the city and the county is if you can find a way to assist us," Morse said. She said the center has a shortfall of $1,000 per month, and that if the city and the county could each come up with $850, it would help.

Alternatives to cash assistance, she said, might include the county or city taking the building under its umbrella to pay for certain services, to help clean and maintain the facility, and to take the center's employee under the city or county health plan.

Bessette and Pierson agreed to look at their budgets to determine what could be done for the building, and meet again on April 24.

Morse said she was pleased with the outcome of the meeting. "We just need to get the parties together that can fix the problem, and it's a start," she said. "I am certainly hopeful. I think both the city and the county recognize the importance of this building for the city of Havre."

This morning Bessette said she did not know what the county had available in its budget at this point, but that she is "very supportive of the building."

"We're going to dig and see what we can find," Bessette said. "Funds are so tight, but there are so many people that have worked so hard to save the building."

Bessette said she hoped to sit down with the other commissioners next week, but said the county may not be able to give financial assistance until the next budget year, which begins in July.

City Council Finance Committee chair Tom Farnham said this morning that the committee will probably discuss the issue on April 7, when the next City Council meeting is scheduled.

Like the county, the city may have to wait to help the center, Farnham said, because it doesn't usually deal with budgeting until May.

"It's pretty tight, but we'll have to see what we can do, because I do feel it's an asset to the community," Farnham said.

The building's leaky roof will be replaced this year, Morse said after the meeting. She said the foundation had already raised $6,000 of the $10,000 match for CTEP funds, and that the Soroptimists Home Tour on Sunday had raised about $1,500. A match is expected to be added to that money to bring that amount to about $3,000, and Morse said the remaining $1,000 was donated by a private individual.

Ramona Lohse, treasurer of the service fund of the Soroptimists International of Havre, said the match was not yet certain.

During the meeting Rice again brought up concerns that once the roof is fixed using CTEP funds, the city will be required to keep up the building for three years, and will be liable for any "major catastrophe" that might occur.

"By law, I'm not going to let this building deteriorate," said Rice.

Rice said the City Council has not yet voted to increase CTEP funding for the roofing project, the price of which has increased from the original cost to about $72,000, he said.

The city's maintenance obligations are not completely clear, said Thomas Martin, the CTEP bureau chief in Helena.

Nor is it clear, he said, whether a transfer of ownership would mean the city would have to reimburse CTEP funds. "That's the biggest question we're going to deal with," he said.

Last month Rice told the City Council that selling the center to the Clack Museum for $1 was an option, though he said he would prefer not to have to do that.

Martin said it was unclear how the CTEP bureau would deal with the building. Usually, he said, CTEP money goes to buildings like courthouses, which stay in county or city ownership.

"We've never had one like this," Martin said, but he said the bureau would work with the city and with Bear Paw Development Corp. to reach a solution. He said he told those parties to "give us your options for dealing with this predicament and we'll work with you."

Martin said the Federal Highway Administration would probably eventually be called in to deal with the parties involved. CTEP is federal transportation money that is administered by the state.

Also discussed Thursday night was the possibility of using volunteer work and donated materials to repair some parts of the building, including the boiler, the radiators and the thermostat. Rice told the group that because the building is insured under the city, regulations may make it difficult to have volunteers do the work.

On all sides there was a sense of resolve to preserve the building.

"I can't see Havre without this building," said Emily Mayer, a City Council member and Havre's historic preservation officer.

"My personal feeling is that this building needs to be here," Pierson said, adding that the question is how to broaden community input and support.

Morse also said she felt that the public must play a large role in the future of the center. "This building will not make it without community support," she said.

Community member Charlie Grant told the group he felt the building should be run like a business rather than receiving help from the city and county.

"If you let the people in and make it their Heritage Center, they will support it," he said. "So look at this like businesspeople."

City Council member Allen Woodwick said this morning that he would like to see the city and the county cooperate to support the Heritage Center, but that he would also like to see business owners from the downtown area get involved, whether financially or by renting space in the center.

Woodwick said he expected the matter to be brought before the Finance Committee and then the City Council for a vote, but he said he would also like to see a poll taken to gauge the public's feelings.

"We have to reflect what the people would like to do with this building," he said.

The Heritage Center Commitee was founded in January. Its members include the mayor, Morse, another foundation representative, and businesses and organizations that use space in the center.