House in Lowell that escaped fire threat now target of ‘burn to learn’ exercise

By DEAN REA/Correspondent/The Herald—A house in downtown Lowell may no longer escape “going up in smoke.”

Initially, the one-story structure at 205 E. Main St. was granted a reprieve when asbestos was discovered and had to be removed. The advent of area forest fires stalled the execution a second time. But with the arrival of fall rain, the object of a “Burn to Learn” firefighting exercise is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Firefighters from the Lowell Rural Fire Department and other departments have been simulating firefighting exercises there since the city prepared the commercial lot for sale during the summer.

On Saturday, East Main Street between South Pioneer and West Boundary Road will be closed to traffic until the exercise concludes.

Tuesday night the city council authorized as much as $10,000 to clean up the debris after the training exercise ends.

The three-bedroom, one-bath 1,240-square-foot house was built in 1940. The city purchased two parcels, including the one where the house stands, on Sept. 25, 2020 for $243.500. The city then owned all of the property in the downtown block framed by East Main Street, West Boundary Road and Pioneer Street.

Tuesday night City Council members authorized final details in transferring ownership of the site to Lowell Investment Properties, LLC, which purchased the property for $375,000. The city retains an option to repurchase the property “if substantial development has not occurred within five years.”

The downtown site is one of four properties being sold by the city to help reduce the amount of money being borrowed to remodel the former church structure now known as the Maggie Osgood Library at 70 N. Pioneer for use as a City Hall and library.

The present City Hall on Third Street is another property being prepared for sale and was the subject of a 30-minute discussion during a meeting of council and parks and recreation committee members. Parks chairman Hall O’Regan favored retaining the City Hall parking lot for park use, which eventually led the group to recommend adding the parking lot and an adjacent strip of city property to the Paul Fisher Park.

That building, which now houses the former library, is one of three city properties that will be surveyed in preparation for sale, said City Administrator Jeremy Caudle. The council authorized $26,025 plus an estimated $2,500 in engineering fees to partition these properties for sale.

As plans progress to remodel the Maggie Osgood site for use as a City Hall and library, the council authorized spending $14,970 for library consulting services by a Portland firm. A representative will be responsible for helping plan the library operations, including management, marking and communication.

The Pine Needler’s Quilt Group’s $1,739.91 Community Grant Program Application was approved to acquire equipment to display quits during the annual show, which has grown and was held last summer in the Lowell High School gymnasium. Proceeds from the show are donated to various community projects.

Finally, the council’s attention turned festive, and plans are being outlined for the return of the Bridge display and ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 4, and to expand downtown seasonal lighting.

Attending the meeting were Mayor Don Bennett and councilors Gail Harris, Tim Stratis, John Myers and Maureen Weathers.