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Greater Milan Area Community Foundation offers $50,000 to assess Milan Community House; council to review
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Summary
The Greater Milan Area Community Foundation offered a $50,000 grant to fund inspection and stabilization planning for the Milan Community House and proposed a 99-year lease option; the City Council agreed to further review the proposal and consider next steps within a set timeline.
The Greater Milan Area Community Foundation (GMACF) told the Milan City Council on July 15 that it will provide $50,000 from the Milan Enrichment Fund plus public donations to fund a structural and historic assessment of the Milan Community House and take initial stabilization steps if funds remain. Cassie Prior and Britney Novak of GMACF presented the offer during the council's "Items for discussion" session and asked the city to indicate a decision in principle at a future meeting.
The foundation proposed using the funds to pay for a licensed building inspection, a stabilization plan prepared by a licensed historic architect, a National Register of Historic Places nomination submission, cost estimates from a general contractor, and environmental testing for lead or asbestos if warranted. GMACF said initial stabilization work would be done only if assessment funds remain.
GMACF presented a decision timeline: the city would have three months after receipt of the assessment reports to decide whether to complete stabilization work within 24 months or to offer the GMACF/Community Foundation of Monroe County (CFMC) an exclusive 99-year lease option. If the city offers a lease, GMACF/CFMC would have 90 days to accept. The proposal states that if GMACF/CFMC declines a lease, contributions would be treated as a grant to the City of Milan.
If GMACF/CFMC accepts a lease, the foundation said it would convene residents to discuss future uses, hire a historic architect to develop restoration plans, prepare a proforma to show operating revenues can sustain operating costs, and assemble construction funding through a mix of a community capital campaign, grant applications, construction-period loans, state tax credits, and GMACF grants. The proposal allows restoration to proceed in phases and requires city review of construction plans on the usual timetable.
The proposal also lists expectations for city cooperation: providing sufficient adjacent land for parking, reasonable assistance in grant applications, first offer of any adjacent Ford building if the city decides to relinquish it, restricting permitted uses to nonprofit or charitable purposes except as expressly allowed by the city, and mutual permission to use city parking for overflow events.
Councilmembers indicated a consensus to further review the materials and possibly move forward with a plan to be discussed at a future meeting; no formal vote to accept or decline the grant or a lease occurred on July 15. The presentation and full proposal were provided to the council as part of the meeting packet. The council is expected to address any decision on the assessment or lease option in accordance with the timelines in the proposal.