AVON \u2014 The Hahnewald Barn, and what to do with it, continues to elicit a strong response from the community as the deadline to decide its fate looms.<\/p>\n
In a discussion on Tuesday, the Avon Town Council listened as letters were read into the record and testimony was received from local residents. Comments from nearly two dozen people were heard.<\/p>\n
The more than 100-year-old barn is set to be demolished in June of 2019<\/a> if it can\u2019t be moved off the Eagle Water & Sanitation District\u2019s property.<\/p>\n An architectural firm hired by the town has recommended the barn be moved to a temporary location, at an estimated cost of $390,000<\/a>, before establishing a permanent restoration site for the barn in one of two spots: the former fire station or former town hall sites in the town core. The three options presented in those locations spanned from $5 million to $8 million.<\/p>\n Many of the comments heard on Tuesday took issue with the price tag on those ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel that the $8 million price tag that we\u2019re talking about \u2026 included very fancy fixings of the inside,\u201d said Nancy Nottingham. \u201cThat cost is not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n Nancy was one of five members of the Nottingham family whose comments on the barn were heard on Tuesday, not including Tamra Nottingham Underwood, who is a current member of the Avon Town Council.<\/p>\n The Nottingham family\u2019s history in Avon predates the barn itself<\/a>, and the Nottingham family owned the barn for several decades<\/a> beginning in 1948. When the family sold their parcels to Benchmark-Avon Properties in 1972, the barn was included. It is now owned by the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, which will give it to the town of Avon if it is put to public use.<\/p>\n Terry Nottingham, whose father, Allan, used the barn for ranching in the \u201950s and \u201960s, told his cousin, Tamra \u2013 along with the rest of the Avon town council \u2013 that the initial $390,000 needed to move the barn would be a good spend for the town.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019d be a good thing to put a little money towards,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think you need to put the $7 million, you just need to save the structure, and then work on the design and then the funding, because time is limited.\u201d<\/p>\n With so many members of the Nottingham family in support of the barn, the question was raised of whether council member Tamra Nottingham Underwood should recuse herself from the looming barn decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIt rings conflict in my head,\u201d said council member Jake Wolf.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not aware of anyone in the Nottingham family \u2026 that has some potential financial gain to be realized by taking action on the Hahnewald barn,\u201d said town attorney Eric Heil.<\/p>\n Tamra Nottingham Underwood made it clear that she would not be silent on the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no financial interest in saving Hahnewald barn and never will,\u201d she said. \u201cI think any drive to seek to have my voice silenced is a violation of my First Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Nottingham, in a letter read to the council on Tuesday, wrote that she believes there will be a return on any investment made toward saving the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a critical decision that cannot be made purely for financial reasons,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Financial reasoning, however, was the most-cited rationale among opponents of the barn plan.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a way to preserve it without such a burden, where my children aren\u2019t going to still be paying for it in 50 years, let\u2019s do it,\u201d said Adrienne Perer.<\/p>\n \u201cOn barn rehabilitation projects throughout the country \u2026 most all of those were done with private or grant money, they were not done with taxpayer money,\u201d said Peter Warren.<\/p>\n Others mentioned they might be more open to the idea if not for Avon\u2019s recent history with large spending projects.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease stop wasting our tax dollars,\u201d wrote James Bahan in a letter read to the council on Tuesday, referencing other projects including the town\u2019s performance pavilion and the \u201croad diet\u201d streetscape improvements currently underway on Beaver Creek Boulevard.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so saddened at the amount of money that our town has spent on silly things,\u201d said Brad Christianson.<\/p>\n Other citizens, including the former chair of the Avon Historic Society, Jeanette Hix, and Kathy Heicher, President of the Eagle Valley Historical Society, spoke out in favor of preserving the barn, citing the town\u2019s need to look back on its roots.<\/p>\n Commenters also suggested a special election should determine whether or not Avon invests the initial $390,000 on moving the barn. If a special election were to occur before the deadline to move the barn, the council will have to take action to do so at their next meeting on Jan. 22.<\/a><\/p>\n Several commenters expressed dissatisfaction at the idea of a special election.<\/p>\n Supporters say if the $390,000 is the first step toward a much larger spend that will require taxpayer approval, perhaps voter input should be sought on the initial spend, as well.<\/p>\n Council member Chico Thuon, who supports a special election on the matter, said the 999 votes he received in the 2018 election was more than he expected.<\/p>\n \u201cBut those 999 people listened to me and my platform,\u201d Thuon said.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories For You<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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