Thanks for the Memories, Creepy Old House….

 

So many of us fondly remember learning and working in the Creepy Old House, squeezing into the cramped propagation house, fumbling for tools in the dark and dank tool shed, and being reluctant to enter the cobwebby isolation greenhouse.

Well…

Although the timing is a bit ethereal yet, Jackson County plans to demolish the COH and propagation building and drag off the old tool shed. The isolation greenhouse may be saved, if it can be moved elsewhere on site. In addition, the driveway into SOREC Demonstration Gardens is going to be widened to 3 lanes to permit safer Hanley Road ingress and egress. The boundaries of the new driveway are not yet known.

Our Board of Directors appointed Jane Moyer to form an ad hoc Design Committee to work on a plan to replace these essential structures with new ADA compliant buildings designed to meet our classroom, storage, and tool shed needs now and in the future. The buildings will be placed on the original COH site and include an open plan lathe house in the space between the classroom and the toolshed.

The Design Committee brainstormed a long list of necessities based on long familiarity with the old buildings, their deficiencies, and potential future demands. Three bids were requested, one was favored due to the contractor’s thorough understanding of our needs and financial limitations. It was not the lowest or highest bid.

We expect to have an initial contractor drawing to share with you in the next month or two.

Next, paying for this project is a top priority. The JCMGA Board has agreed to use some of its savings and research what other funding sources may be available. (Bake sales are at the bottom of our list.)

Any questions or ideas can be directed to Jane Moyer, whose foresight was the inspiration for this project.

Look for periodic updates in The Beet as new information becomes available.

This upgrade is such a positive step for JCMGA. Exciting and uplifting!