Sad saga of ‘Louie’s church’
Move still stalled
"We should stop referring to it as Louie’s Church."
P&Z Commissioner Rod Severs
By GREG STAHL and DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writers
Ketchum’s old Congregational Church, and more recently Louie’s
Restaurant, will remain in the city’s park & ride lot indefinitely as the city
and historical society work to iron out wrinkles in a relocation proposal.
The church issue returned to Ketchum City Hall on Monday night for a
design review hearing, in which the city’s planning and zoning commission was
scheduled to rule on a design for renovation of the historic structure, which is to be
moved to the south end of East Avenue.
Early this summer, the Ketchum City Council approved relocating the church
to the East Avenue, city-owned lot on the condition that the historical society could
raise enough money to pay for restoration.
That should cost roughly $100,000, according to historical society
president Dick Meyer. So far, the historical society has banked $32,000 in donations.
Plans revealed Monday night call for adding rest rooms, a storage area,
replacing the entryway and reattaching the original steeple. The exterior work involves a
new green metal roof, and landscaping so that "there is an area outside for
use," Meyer said.
Despite the lack of funding, Meyer and past historical society president
Floyd McCracken told the P&Z the building should be moved before winter, regardless of
how much money is raised.
"There’s no way we can raise the funds before we move it,"
McCracken said. "We want to move it prior to the snow and fix up the outside."
P&Z members remained staunch. The building cannot move until the money
is raised, they said, or until they have a written guarantee that the money is accounted
for.
Additionally, residents of the neighborhood surrounding the East Avenue
site—most of whom were previously silent on the issue—expressed concerns to the
P&Z about the pending move. They asked who will maintain the land, and what will the
church be used for?
Answers were tough to come by, and Ketchum city attorney Margaret Simms
said she would return to a meeting on Oct. 2 with answers. The Ketchum City Council will
consider the legal issues on Sept 18.
On the design plans, Peter Ripsom, the P&Z chairman, said, "We
can approve it, but moving it is still subject to funding."
Commissioner Rod Severs added, "We should stop referring to it as
Louie’s Church," as that was legally misleading. A church cannot be placed on
public land, which the intended site is. He suggested that the Historical Society come up
with a better and more apt name for the building.
