The barns have a restoration price tag of about $200,000 each. According to Mr. McKay’s numbers to start his efforts in Rochester, that is not an outrageous number. (Mr. McKay is a speaker sponsored by Friends of Fuerst Farm.) If the buildings are there, they need to be restored and cared for whether a new building exists or not. If a new building exists, its cost of maintenance will probably be lower than maintaining 3 19th century type barn structures.

Finally, a “reasonable opportunity” from the City Council is largely undefined. The last study was 7 years ago. Again being realistic, it appears the definition of “reasonable opportunity” from City Council is a request for more time. But who has defined how much time is required? In restoration, time is not a commodity the Novi City Council exclusively owns.

If you attended the Friends of Fuerst farm presentation a few weeks ago, you recognize the large Edsel Ford Barn from Ron Campbells presentation (Oakland County Restoration). This large barn structure represented one of the most exciting and challenging opportunities in Oakland County. Over several years, Mr. Campbell?s efforts were successful in raising preservation dollars and getting work started. Unfortunately, the needs of the structure were more immediate than realized and were affected by our recent storms.

This is the Barn as it exists today.

Bottom line gets back to a plan to maintain and use these buildings. Today two of those buildings are performing a storage function for High School Athletics. This would be performed in a more safe and secure manner in a modern storage facility. Today the price of that storage is artificially low based on next to zero maintenance dollars.

It’s time for a plan and execution rather than talking about what COULD happen. If Council accepts the status quo and another Fuerst Farm report is all that results, Novi just waits for a catastrophe to hit a weakened structure at 10 mile and Taft. An equal scenario to what COULD happen.

In that case, the Board of Education can debate who is responsible for paying for lost athletic equipment.

In much the same manner as other historic buildings and sites are maintained, the Fuerst Farm COULD be kept through a private funding plan. Community-wide fundraisers, in conjunction with historic preservation grants, would raise more than enough to cover annual costs for this historic city landmark.

The City Council needs to give the Friends of the Fuerst Farm a reasonable opportunity to organize and raise financial support!

http://www.fuerstfarm.org