Crawford County Closer To Selling Building
Crawford County on May 13 moved one step closer to selling a building on Highway 19 that was originally intended to be for the coroner.
Commissioners approved a contract to sell the building for $100,000.
Presiding Commissioner Steve Black said the original offer was for $75,000, but the county countered with $110,000.
“They wouldn’t budget from $100,000,” Black said. “I don’t think we’re going to get a better offer.”
Black said the property has been shown more than a dozen times.
“I’m ready to let it go,” said District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast, who was part of the purchase in December 2020.
District 1 Commissioner Mark Pfeiffer said he hated to see the building sit there.
“It will continue to deteriorate if we don’t do something with it,” he said.
The county had come to refer to the garage as the Korte building over the last four years. It often became a topic of discussion during commission meetings. A handful of residents repeatedly slammed commissioners, which included Boast, former Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders and former District 1 Commissioner Rob Cummings, for purchasing the building and the Tutterow building in fall 2022.
Both buildings were purchased with the intent to be used for Coroner Darren Dake, who entered office in January 2021.
Paul Hutson, the former coroner, had allowed the county to use his funeral home and facilities since entering office in 1993.
In 2017, the commission began brainstorming a new facility for the coroner since Hutson wouldn’t be seeking reelection in 2020.
The county purchased the Korte building in December 2020 for a total of $149,000, with closing costs.
Plans were commissioned to have the building repurposed for the coroner in 2023, but the price tag sailed over $1 million. Black, who had just entered office, pushed the county to purchase the former Three Rivers Publishing building in Cuba.
In 2022, the county had purchased the Tutterow building, also on Highway 19. That came with a pricier tag of $424,000.