Fate of old Palouse city shed uncertain

Garth Meyer | Sep 22, 20110

The fate of an old Public Works storage shed is being discussed in Palouse.

The wooden building on Main Street, which lies on a flood plain, is still much in use.

Several city departments claim space in the shed. Inside the dark brown, sun-faded wood is a back hoe, dump truck, street sweeper and a city service truck, among other things.

“It’s used, it’s used a lot,” said Mayor Michael Echanove.

“It’s very, very tight (in there),” said Mike Milano, city councilman and finance chairman.

The topic of what to do with the shed has come up off and on in recent years.

An informal walk-through was conducted by a local architect two years ago and it was concluded that it is possible to do restoration work, since the near-hundred year-old building is structurally sound.

A full structural engineering report was done in 1996 after the Palouse flood.

“We’ve got to look at location, structure, integrity – it’s a big picture thing,” said Echanove, in regards to the future of the property.

Any restoration or replacement of the shed would come from the city’s building fund, which hasn’t been added to in the past two years. At present, the fund has $83,908.

Finding additional funds may cross a lot of budget lines, since city departments such as sewer, streets and sidewalks, parks and cemetery use the shed.

“I think its location and its size, its deterioration make it not worthwhile to restore or expand it,” said Milano. “We need something bigger and better.”

He noted that the city shop is adjacent to the shed and it might be beneficial to combine the two in a future building.

“Now would be a great time to examine it, to do a long term review,” said Echanove. “We need to study it before it becomes a problem.”

Right now the city council is working on a budget for the 2012. “It’s budget season for all of us,” Echanove said. They will vote on one in December.

As for the old shed, it will stand for now.