The Italy EDC held a public hearing Monday evening to discuss the purchase of two pieces of property at 101 and 108 East Main Street in Italy. The McConnell family owns the properties.

Mark Stiles, IEDC president, said he negotiated the purchase of the two pieces of property – the former McConnell Furniture Store and the building across the street known as the Closet Store – for $65,000.

The goal of the IEDC, according to Stiles, is to purchase the former Closet Store with the intention of tearing it down along with the former community center at the corner of Main Street and Harpold Street. The IEDC plans to demolish the buildings and build a new community center at that location. Stiles said the buildings in their current state are not worth repairing.

Stiles said there is a business that might be interested in purchasing the former furniture store building, although there is no contract in place.

Italy resident John Droll asked why the IEDC was acting as the “middle man?”

Stiles said the McConnell family refused to sell the property separately.

The IEDC board passed two resolutions for the two pieces of property, the first is on 0.172 acres of land at 101 E. Main and the second resolution for 0.057 acres of land at 108 E. Main. The IEDC allotted $65,000 to the McConnell family and approximately $45,000 for demolition, engineering, architect services and related pre-construction planning tasks for a community center at 108 E. Main.

Regarding the Letter of Intent, Tom Little questioned the name recognition requested by the family.

Stiles said the family requested some type of name recognition since they were selling the property for less than the recent appraisal authorized by Teri Murdock, city administrator.

According to records from the Ellis County Appraisal District, the former furniture store is valued at $49,390 and the former clothes closet is valued at $18,950. Both pieces of property are on the tax roll for a total of $68,340.

Before the IEDC can take further action, the city council must approve the two resolutions. The proposals are set to be on the agenda of the July 12 city council meeting.

The group briefly discussed the ownership of the alley behind the former furniture store property.

Ed Voss, city attorney, suggested they do a title search on the property sold to the current owner in June of 2005.

Stiles said the city council should determine the ownership of this property, not the IEDC. He did add, however, that the two groups could divide the cost if the city were to follow through with a title search.

Stiles told board members that they would need additional parking for projected downtown development. Mayor Frank Jackson told Stiles that the blacktop area behind city hall belongs to the city.

Financially, the board approved one bill for the month, $800 to the city for administration costs.

Stiles said the EDC received $5,087.85 in tax money for June. The money market balance is $168,061.09. Members also approved minutes from the May 24 and June 18 meetings.

Board member Randy Boyd was absent from the meeting.

The IEDC will meet again on Monday, July 26.

Comment by Karen Mathiowetz, June 29, 2010, 11:34am

I am not sure exactly how I am feeling after reading the article about the latest EDC meeting. I know I am very sad that anyone would want to demolish a building that is part of our history. I know that I am angry that anyone would even consider this. I also know that I am confused how those of us that have lived here all our lives would allow this to happen and not fight to stop it.

I have so many memories in the Community Center building. I remember Green family reunions that were held there. I attended city council meetings in that building. I cannot count how many dances or birthday parties I attended there. Not to mention winning spaghetti cook offs that were held there during past Italian festivals.

When I was a little girl, that building was almost sacred because it was named after the Cargills and Gallmans – two families that were very important to the folks here in Italy. Back then it was the Legion Hall.

I guess our history is very important to me because I was born and raised here. I have been involved in this community for 60 years now and where we have come from is also important to me. My family helped build Italy and sustain her for as long as I can remember.

I feel that this building is important enough to save. After all money should not be the only factor involved. I know there are grants available that would help us save this existing piece of Italy history. I am hoping the Economic Development Corporation will reconsider their decision to pursue tearing down our history. I also hope the City Council will think about what is happening and explore other options before proceeding.

Italy history has always been very important and so were the buildings. In the past few years, something has changed. I am not sure what caused this but I do see the effects of it. Several buildings that the city owns including the community center and the Christian Church are in much need of repair. I just don’t understand this.

I am asking everyone that cares about our history to get involved. Be vocal and tell those in authority that this is not acceptable behavior. Destroying our history for progress is not the way we want to go. It is time we stand up and tell them we want to keep our history no matter the cost.

I long for the days when Italy rebuilt after the tornado without any federal assistance – we did it with big hearts, civic consciousness and a lot of hard work. If we did it then we can do it again. I know we can save this building – for all those that worked so hard to build our history including me – it is worth it.

Comment from Cassi Windham, June 30, 2010, 9:34am

I understand what Karen is saying about Italy’s history and how these buildings have been in Italy for a long time now. I, too, have lived and grown up in Italy my whole life, but there comes a time when a community has to change with generations. I am completely behind IEDC and Italy City Council to approve this action. I believe if the IEDC can build a newer and nicer community center it would benefit everyone in the community. For starters, the community could get the youth involved in more activities such as game nights, Meals on Wheels, dances, and volunteering. I am pretty sure that I would quit reading about underage drinking being such a problem in Italy if we tried to get the youth to participate more in the community. Yes, I know that it’s going to take a few years to get a lot of the youth involved, but if they start as children then they will continue throughout their lives. As for adults, senior citizen activities would be wonderful, and it could possibly get the adults of the community to help a little more, as well.

As we reach year 2010, people will look forward to see our community grow along with the rest of the world. Italy can keep the history and the tradition alive in many other ways instead of an old building that people hardly even use. New building equals people’s interest and people’s interest equals community growth. So much work as been done in the downtown area to make it more appealing to those who pass through, and I think this would be a great addition.

Cassi Windham