Public speakers press county to move on Brown House and Bridal House restorations; committee refers Brown House RFQ to ad hoc

Residents urged the Sumner County General Operations Committee Aug. 4 to move forward on renovations to the Brown House and to approve maintenance funding for the Bridal House. Mike McLeod, a public commenter, said he supported repair work and brief funding that the county was considering for the Bridal House, and he estimated the immediate request at about $18,000 to replace masonry chinking and extend the structure’s usable life. “If anybody’s never gone to the Bridal House, go — it’s really, really nice,” McLeod said. Cynthia McLeod, who has followed the projects for about a year, told commissioners she found the original Brown House/park project budget in older documents and said funds originally intended for the home had been used primarily for a park plan. She said about $1.25 million had been budgeted historically for a park that combined a $500,000 bequest from Mr. Brown’s will plus other grants, and urged the committee to prioritize the home that bears Brown’s name. Committee members and staff described procedural steps already taken: county staff paid a consultant $5,000 for an initial condition assessment and obtained preliminary cost estimates; the county issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for an architect on Aug. 4 and will evaluate respondents by qualifications (not solely price) because state procurement rules and county policy require architectural selection to consider experience and a not-to-exceed approach. Committee members moved and approved sending the Brown House restoration work to the project’s ad hoc committee so citizens, historical societies and volunteers can continue to provide input as the RFQ proceeds. The chair said the RFQ and subsequent architect selection make September the earliest realistic date for contracts and that the ad hoc group will coordinate community input and work with finance staff on any budget requests. No appropriation was approved at the Aug. 4 meeting; committee members said they had already sent a Bridal House maintenance request to the county budget process and will ensure it reaches the full commission.