Agenda - Council - 01/24/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PR ),IECT DESCRIPTION The--project proposes to refurbish the building identified as District School #28/Ramsey Town Hall. The building was originally constructed in 1892 as District School #28 to replace an earlier frame schOOlhouse structure. This building is one of the last remaining structures constructed during this period to facilitate the rapid growth of Anoka County outside of the City of Anoka. Currently, this building is one of the best preserved buildings from this period of public building construction. For these retksons, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in February, 1980. The building is constructed of a buff colored brick that was manufactured in the Kelsey brickyard which operated between 1880 - 1897. The proposed project intends to include the following components: · Review the current status of the brick walls and refurbish to original or structurally sound ; condition to bring the building up to current building code requirements. This will include the ' possible replacement of mortar and damaged bricks. Any of the replaced materials will be done :i to match existing construction. Inspect the current foundation of the building which was added in the last 30 years to provide additional support and stability to the building and existing brick foundation. Due to the building's location, the foundation will need to be replaced, as the high-water table has increased the rate of degradation. Restoring the windows in the building to their original status. This restoration is possible because the existing windows appear to be the ones originally installed at the time of construction. It appears that some of the windows were covered over with asphalt brick, which will require removal. These will then be investigated to determine whether they require replacement or refurbishment. F}ooring in the building will also need refurbishment, as it was covered by a more modern linoleum floor covering. It appears that this flooring was laid directly over the original hardwood floor. When the floor was visually inspecmd, it appears to be peaking at the center which could indicate that the floor joists will need repair prior to the building's internal restoration. The roof, which was reshingled in the early 1980's with wooden shingles to match the original construction, will need to be inspected and repaired. This repair will include replacement of leaking sections. It is intended to retain the wooden shingles, if possible, to reduce the cost of the roof repairs. Thg: Anoka County Historical Society, in conjunction with a group of residents from the City of Ra~msey, have indicated an interest in restoring this schoolhouse. In order for them to continue this pinioning process, the structure will need to be brought up to current building code standards. The Hisiorical Society is planning to use the site for one-day classroom activities to allow students to relive tree,ay their grandparents attended school and how people lived during this period. This would be done in conjunction with the local school districts, which include Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District #11 and Elk River School District #728. Th~ property is currently owned by the City of Ramsey and being used as a public works storage fac. il!ry. The City has recently purchased a new public works facility and will be moving from the exr~tmg public works site. This will allow for possible additional development of a limited interpretive center and park setting. With the site's current location at the intersection of County Road #116 and Staie Highway #47, a large number of people will come in contact with the facility, as traffic counts arc, estimated at an excess of 12,000 trips per day, based upon 1986 counts. :