The City of Sturgeon Bay has responded to an email from the Wisconsin Historical Society about the old grain elevator on the city’s west side waterfront. In the email sent Tuesday, Historic Preservation Specialist Andrew Stern contended that his office had not been provided with sufficient information to complete its review of the decision to disassemble the 116-year old granary and store the materials. City Administrator Josh VanLieshout responded that the city doesn’t have any more or new information on the project that goes beyond what was provided on December 1st. Stern had indicated that a date for negotiations on the fate of the old building needs to be set. However, VanLieshout noted that a contract to take the building down has already been awarded, but a date for the work to commence has not been set. He called on Stern to share with the city the statutory or administrative authority the Wisconsin Historical Society has to demand negotiations beyond the 60 days notice already given or to demand new information be created. VanLieshout said if the state historical society would like artifacts from the structure, it is free to ask for them and the request will be considered appropriately. He said the city is happy to accommodate any requests it deems reasonable.
