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Downtown lumberyard lease eyed as 40–50-space parking lot; council asks for cost study
Summary
The Swisher Economic Alliance proposed leasing the old lumberyard downtown for $200/month to provide roughly 40–50 parking spaces; council accepted the city attorney’s lease revisions and asked HR Green to estimate conversion and long‑term costs before final approval.
The Swisher Economic Alliance told the City Council it had negotiated a potential lease of the old downtown lumberyard and said the clinic that owns the property is "willing to lease the old lumberyard for $200 a month," the Alliance representative said.
Council members and business owners raised multiple practical concerns, including a 50-foot railroad setback, a ridge in the lot that will require grading, lighting and snow‑removal obligations, and liability exposure. The city attorney had already reduced an insurance requirement in the draft lease from $5,000,000 to $3,000,000, and staff said the city’s insurance agent prefers limits at or below $3,000,000.
Because the property may need a base, drainage and surfacing work to become a durable parking area, council directed the city engineer to have HR Green produce a cost estimate. "We would need to look at grading to see if there's grading that’s being done," the engineer said when asked about conversions. Council members also cautioned against spending large capital sums under a five‑year lease without a clear extension option.
By motion, the council accepted the city attorney’s lease revisions and asked staff to send the revised draft to the potential lessee and place the item on the November agenda after HR Green’s cost estimate is available.
