The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Merrill Foto News, its publishers, Editor, or staff.
To the Editor:
The Merrill Historical Society needs permission from the Common Council to sell the former American Legion Building, purchased by us in 1999 for use as a storage facility. We are about to vacate this building because the storage addition to our permanent facility is now complete.
A buyer has come forward with an offer and plan to preserve this building, returning it to public use by creating a Community Arts Center. The surrounding neighborhood of the Library, Middle School, and Historical Society is a perfect fit. This plan will be good for the community, schools, and the City.
Why do we need permission to sell our building? When we purchased it, the Council passed Resolution 1571 giving the City authority to take control of our building and land with no compensation to us when the Society vacates it. Since the City has no money or vested interest in the building, the Society feels justified in asking to keep the money from the sale. To move things along, we have offered the City $10,000 from the sale to remove their control of the property. You can read the specifics of this conundrum in Tina Scott’s article or call the Society for more information.
Please contact the Mayor and your Alderman in support of the Historical Society’s request that the City remove their control of the American Legion building, allowing the Society to receive the sale money and to return the building to public use again as an Arts Center.
– Beatrice Lebal, President
Merrill Historical Society, Inc.
Merrill, Wisconsin
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
*Letters must be 250 words or less (There will be no exceptions to this. Any letter longer than 250 words will not be printed.)
*All letters must include full name, address and phone number of the composer. Phone numbers and addresses will not be published, but will be used for verification purposes, if necessary.
*Letters will be published at the discretion of the Editor. While letters on most any topic will be published, any letters deemed derogatory, inflammatory, slanderous, or involving vulgar language, will not be published.
*Letters will be published on a “first come, first served” basis. Any letters which we are unable to publish in the printed newspaper will be run online at www.merrillfotonews.com and may be printed in the paper at a later date if possible.