The Elk Rapids Township board unanimously voted to sell the historic Elk Rapids Township Hall during a meeting Monday morning.
That action also ends the lease and management agreement between the township and the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall Association (HERTHA), which had been in place since 2012.
Since February 2024, HERTHA has rented the 142-year-old property on a month-to-month basis, using the space for community events and performances.
The hall was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973, then listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
In its resolution, the board declared the town hall "not needed for any governmental public purpose," making it eligible for sale under Section 2 of the Township Act (41.2).
Township Trustee Matt Soper said, to put it simply, "there is no money" to keep the town hall running as it currently is, which is why the property is being sold.
Trustee Richard Hults said the building requires repairs totaling $254,395, including eight or more windows priced at $16,000 each.
Appraisal of the property is expected to be finished by June 13.
Prior to the vote, Elk Rapids community members were invited to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. Some shared personal anecdotes about the town hall, others pleaded with the board to reconsider its plans or criticized board members for their intention to sell.
As commenters walked up to the microphone to speak, some in the audience muttered among themselves. Some speakers stared at the board members, others addressed the room, one called for township board members to be "voted off."
All five board members were in attendance: Dorance Amos, Debbie Husband, Kelly Jensen, Hults and Soper. All listened silently to each speaker.
Many of those who offered public comment, such as Dianne Richter, said they had viewed the town hall as already belonging to HERTHA.
"If you feel like you need to dispose of the building because you don't want to maintain it, please consider just not having the residents buy back the building that they already own," Richter said.
Rob Ford, member of the HERTHA board and the Elk Rapids Players, a theater company that performs in the town hall, spoke in opposition to the sale.
Ford suggested that groups such as the Elk Rapids Players would no longer exist if the town hall were sold. "I find it terribly frightening and terribly ironic that the players' next – and possibly final – performance is scheduled to be held in a cemetery," he said.
Karen Morris, president of HERTHA, asked the board to consider offering the building to HERTHA at a price under market value.
"At this moment, I express disappointment with the township board," Morris said. "I previously held respect for your actions, but now feel that our organization has been undermined and disrespected."
Township Supervisor Amos said that the property must be listed at a fair market value, despite the board's personal beliefs.
"I think this whole board would be tickled if HERTHA wins the award," Amos said. "The township board has duties to follow in this process, simply because we just can't show favoritism."
Soper told attendees that the sale of the building was necessary because of a lack of funds to maintain it, rather than a "sneaky" plan that some people have insinuated was to blame.
"You make us out to be these bad guys, and that we have some kind of backdoor deal with another seller, or we've got someone," he said. "There is nothing like that."
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program's mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.
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