Shiloh might get Cultural Arts Center, trustees question initial fees

Soon Shiloh residents may not have to look at the dilapidated red Barn property at the end of Country Lane, wondering when or if it will cease to exist or be transformed into something beyond what it has stood as in the past — just another local eatery.

“It has been the subject of several discussions over the past months of giving it away to demolition to selling,” John Marquart, village administrator, said.

The Barn, 2400 Country Lane, has been a number of restaurants over the years, and more recently has been considered a public eyesore by local residents. Black mold, shattered windows, boards over entry ways and water damage are just some of the issues that have brought the Barn property to its current derelict state.

“It is now envisioned that the Barn become the Village of Shiloh Cultural Arts Center,” Marquart said.

Local architect Gary Karasek, of U Studios Inc., based in Swansea, has proposed to the village as of July 15 in a letter to the village, “that the Barn be transformed into a Cultural Arts Center to host artists in residence, an art studio, artist incubator space, space for art exhibits and workshops, an area fro dance, music and, perhaps, a gift shop and theater venue.”

Not knowing what the situation was with property initially, Karasek told trustees his sister Carolyn, who is an artist, is what got the ball rolling.

“This came about with my sister looking for space for art classes, workshops, and I mentioned the Barn, (but) didn’t know the situation with it, (so) I called the Mayor and he and John (Marquart) showed me around, and basically found a derelict building that needs help,” Karasek said.

Shiloh Mayor Jim Vernier said the building needs from top to bottom renovations due to the lack of maintenance and upkeep performed by the village over the years, and due to exterior and interior vandalism and being broken into by thieves allegedly stealing copper wiring too.

“Frankly, we should have put a new roof on it three years ago when we talked about it and we wouldn’t be at this issue now,” Vernier said.

During Monday’s Village of Shiloh Committee at Large meeting trustees questioned the viability of moving forward on renovating the Barn before securing funding sources for the center once it is in functional order and has multiple users lined up. Trustee Mark Kurtz was the single opposing vote, so it will go before the board again on Sept. 6 for a final vote.

“I’ve had several discussions with theater groups and dance troupes, some music folks and others — there is great interest in this because not only the Barn and the property, but also because of its location being the center of our region of communities, so it’s easy access for an entity that would be daily oriented for families and kids to go, and has the potential to capture the population of (more than just) our St. Clair County area,” he said.

Marquart said future ideas for the 8.3 acre vacant property that sits less than 1,000 feet of Sierra Park include (additional) park space, gardening, an outdoor stage and other positive family oriented activities.

The village would continue to hold ownership of the building and property, Karasek said.

“In other words, this site would be a destination location in the metro-east area,” Marquart said.

Karasek was once a Shiloh resident for many years, as well as served on the board previously, according to Vernier.

“He’s not doing this at market value, he’s giving us a very good deal to draw up all the paperwork for the renovations needed then do the engineering and design work because he has his heart in this because it’s not just anybody we are hiring to do this, Gary has already put in a lot of time and effort into this,” Vernier said.

U-Studios Inc. will perform the architectural services for a fee of $24,000; and, 303 Engineering will be a fee of $7,000. Additionally, U-Studios Inc. requests $14,000 fixed fee for presentation material and design; and, another $5,000 for “the component users team members that will provide research and information for each of the component facilities.”

Kurtz questioned the fees requested with finding out what the renovations would cost, and the engineering and design, which Vernier, Marquart and Karasek all agreed could be an excess of $500,000 when it’s all finished.

“What about Klucker Hall, that has the space and we wouldn’t have to keep pouring more money into this property than we already have,” Kurtz said.

The idea was quickly dismissed by Karasek and Vernier.

Built in 1984, the multilevel frame building is in dire need, of a new roof, mold remediation, security implementation and utilities, “at the very least,” Marquart advises.

According to a preliminary assessment, Karasek estimated in his letter to Marquart dated Aug.15 that it will cost an upwards of $500,000 to fix the building, excluding elevator and specific finishes for the new user.

Review and possible approval by the board is just the first of many steps for a community commitment to make this work for a long term planned project. The first step would be for the board to officially approve the professional services contract with U Studios, and then the second would be to go out for bids for the management of the construction to be done, Vernier reiterated.

Marquart said, “moving ahead, it is envisioned that a 501 (c) (3) entity be created to raise funds for future endeavors at the site, and to partner with the village on operations, management and developing funding.”

Karasek said, hypothetically, after the center is complete it would be a self-funded operation, and the village would not be on the hook for costly maintenance.

On Oct. 8, 2009, the village purchased the property for $185,000, which to date has been a hot button topic amongst local community members disputing the village’s lack of frugality in spending tax payer dollars to acquire a property that is bogged down with damages and high costs to bring back up to code.

In January 2015, Marquart told the board it would cost roughly $38,000 to remediate the mold. The roof replacement estimates were in the ballpark of $48-$95,000.

Monday night, Marquart said a more recent estimate to have the water and mold damage remediated is now up to $50,000.

Subsequent to January 2016 demolition bids totaling close to $30,000, Vernier has weighed in over the past year, and again at Monday’s meeting, with comments alluding to the possibility of potential buyers and bringing the Barn back to par for the community.

“It’s a unique building, and it was a shame we couldn’t find anyone sooner who had the money and energy to fix it up again,” Vernier said in April.

Monday, Vernier said several times he has been involved in serious discussions with Missouri philanthropists to anchor funding for the “unique and beneficial” effort of bringing the Cultural Arts Center to fruition.

In the beginning of March, the Shiloh board of Trustees held an executive session to discuss the prospective purchase, and minutes later the Trustees Mark Kurtz, Greg O’Neil, Tina Warchol and Bob Weilmuenster voted to authorize the mayor to enter into negotiations.

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Shiloh might get Cultural Arts Center, trustees question initial fees."