(Aug. 25, 2016) The old Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company building on Fifth Street still stands sentinel over the town, as it has since it opened in 1937, but is now considered a detriment, rather than asset to the town.
The problem is, no one can decide what to do with it, or failing that, how to dispose of it.
This past spring, bids were opened to sell the facility. The top bid was $2,500 and rejected. Some argued the price was too low, while others maintained that any amount would be a net positive for the town to rid itself of the property.
In the former camp is Ernie Crofoot, city manager/city attorney for Pocomoke City, and in the latter is Mayor Bruce Morrison.
“I could not, in good conscience, sell at that price,” Crofoot said.
Morrison, meanwhile, said he would rather get someone in there and make the necessary, and expensive, repairs to the building to bring it back into working order. He said he would like to see what someone else could do with the property and facility, but as mayor he has no voting power and has been unable to secure the votes he needs to implement this plan.
The town recently received an appraisal for the land and building in the amount of about $220,000, assuming there was going to be some use of the building, Crofoot said.
Neither Crofoot nor Morrison thinks an offer in that amount is forthcoming.
Based upon a cost estimate for the armory, which is in a similar state of disrepair but is also substantially larger than the old firehouse, Crofoot guessed it would take $1 million to completely rehab the firehouse. Morrison, in a separate interview, guessed the same amount.
“It does have asbestos, and it does have lead paint. In some places, it does have mold. The armory suffers from a number of the same problems,” Crofoot said.
So then, why not tear it all down?
Crofoot said that too is cost prohibitive. While he hasn’t explored the option directly, Crofoot said three dilapidated houses along Second Street await demolition by the town at an estimated cost of $39,000 to level, destroy and remove the rubble.
“To do the fire hall would cost at least that much, and probably more because there has been pre-work done on those houses. I think $50,000 or more wouldn’t be at the low end,” he said.
The state government isn’t much help on this project either. Both Morrison and Crofoot said the Maryland Historical Trust objected to grant funding to demolish both the armory and the old firehouse, leaving the town to fend for itself.
Nell Ziehl, office of planning education and outreach chief for the trust, said she could not locate grant applications from Pocomoke concerning the firehouse.
And the building isn’t without its uses or amenities. The Mar-Va Theater and the Pocomoke Skate Park use the first floor for storage, plus the building has something very few others in the area have: broadband internet access.
“Right up to the front door,” Crofoot said.
For those who want to sell at any price in order to get something out of the deal, Crofoot said the offers received so far “don’t rise to the level of something.”
“If the economy gets going it’ll be worth a lot more … sooner or later someone might want to start a professional service or a data center,” he said.
The problem is, no one can decide what to do with it, or failing that, how to dispose of it.
This past spring, bids were opened to sell the facility. The top bid was $2,500 and rejected. Some argued the price was too low, while others maintained that any amount would be a net positive for the town to rid itself of the property.
In the former camp is Ernie Crofoot, city manager/city attorney for Pocomoke City, and in the latter is Mayor Bruce Morrison.
“I could not, in good conscience, sell at that price,” Crofoot said.
Morrison, meanwhile, said he would rather get someone in there and make the necessary, and expensive, repairs to the building to bring it back into working order. He said he would like to see what someone else could do with the property and facility, but as mayor he has no voting power and has been unable to secure the votes he needs to implement this plan.
The town recently received an appraisal for the land and building in the amount of about $220,000, assuming there was going to be some use of the building, Crofoot said.
Neither Crofoot nor Morrison thinks an offer in that amount is forthcoming.
Based upon a cost estimate for the armory, which is in a similar state of disrepair but is also substantially larger than the old firehouse, Crofoot guessed it would take $1 million to completely rehab the firehouse. Morrison, in a separate interview, guessed the same amount.
“It does have asbestos, and it does have lead paint. In some places, it does have mold. The armory suffers from a number of the same problems,” Crofoot said.
So then, why not tear it all down?
Crofoot said that too is cost prohibitive. While he hasn’t explored the option directly, Crofoot said three dilapidated houses along Second Street await demolition by the town at an estimated cost of $39,000 to level, destroy and remove the rubble.
“To do the fire hall would cost at least that much, and probably more because there has been pre-work done on those houses. I think $50,000 or more wouldn’t be at the low end,” he said.
The state government isn’t much help on this project either. Both Morrison and Crofoot said the Maryland Historical Trust objected to grant funding to demolish both the armory and the old firehouse, leaving the town to fend for itself.
Nell Ziehl, office of planning education and outreach chief for the trust, said she could not locate grant applications from Pocomoke concerning the firehouse.
And the building isn’t without its uses or amenities. The Mar-Va Theater and the Pocomoke Skate Park use the first floor for storage, plus the building has something very few others in the area have: broadband internet access.
“Right up to the front door,” Crofoot said.
For those who want to sell at any price in order to get something out of the deal, Crofoot said the offers received so far “don’t rise to the level of something.”
“If the economy gets going it’ll be worth a lot more … sooner or later someone might want to start a professional service or a data center,” he said.