Committee backs programmatic agreement to evaluate Longview Lake buildings for reuse or demolition

The Jackson County Land Use Committee voted Feb. 24 to recommend adoption of Resolution 21,863, authorizing the county executive to execute a programmatic agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office to evaluate two deteriorated structures at Longview Lake for possible adaptive reuse or demolition.

Michelle Newman, director of Jackson County Parks + Rec, told the committee the county manages Longview Lake under a 1987 agreement with the U.S. Army Corps but that two structures — identified in staff remarks as the garage apartment and the powerhouse building, plus a greenhouse manager's house — are in advanced deterioration, were constructed in the early 1900s and would require significant repairs to be reused. "There is no cost to the county to enter into this programmatic agreement," Newman said.

Newman and Brian Nowatney, deputy director of park operations, described the agreement as the first step in a process. If the programmatic agreement is executed, staff would run a public request-for-proposal process to give interested third parties an opportunity to propose adaptive reuses; proposals would need to demonstrate financial viability and compatibility with the parks' mission. If no viable proposals emerge, the county could seek authorization from the court to proceed with demolition, subject to historic-mitigation requirements from the State Historic Preservation Office.

Nowatney said that if demolition is the determined outcome, the State Historic Preservation Office would require mitigation measures such as on-site interpretive signage or kiosks to acknowledge the site's history and the former use of the structures. Committee members asked whether either building is on the National Register; staff said the structures are not listed but are eligible, which triggers SHPO involvement under Corps requirements. Newman clarified the county's goal is not to pursue listing on the register at this stage but to evaluate adaptive reuse options or demolition if reuse is infeasible.

The committee moved and seconded a motion to recommend adoption of the resolution; the motion carried by voice vote. Staff said any selected path following the RFP process would return to the legislative body for approval before demolition proceeds.