The Winamac Town Park Pavilion may soon be given a new steel exterior. Park board members agreed Thursday that was the most cost-effective way to preserve the 19th-Century structure.
The proposal has been criticized by members of the Pulaski County Historical Society and others, who fear the change would jeopardize the building’s historical value. But town manager and park board member Brad Zellers says the work will actually help preserve the interior. “The inside, to me, is more historic, with everybody’s signatures, the writing,” he said. “You know, if you replace the wood to fix that problem, to make the outside look that way, you’re going to lose all that on the inside.”
Zellers estimated the new steel covering would cost between $24,000 and $27,000, while restoring the building to its original condition may cost four times that amount and require more maintenance.
With no money budgeted for the work, Park Board President Courtney Poor hopes local residents will chip in, to see that the building is preserved. “We don’t have the money to do it in our budget,” he said. “We have to have this; I say that this should be 100-percent donations. And I think it needs to be done now. That is one of the things that I would like to see the advisory council consider, is to look at that particular project.”
Park board members plan to match the appearance of wood as closely as possible, when choosing an exterior option. Landscaping changes were also brought up once again, as a way to further protect the pavilion from moisture.
