AMERICAN FALLS — After Power County commissioners called a public meeting on April 18 regarding the future of the Power County Courthouse Annex building that was condemned last fall due to structural issues, the consensus of many seems to be to demolish the historic building.
An evaluation conducted by a professional commercial property inspector reported severe damages to the building, which included wall separation, evidence of brick deterioration, high moisture content in exterior bricks, evidence of concrete foundation walls crumbling, a sagging roof, and more. Concerns were also raised about the building potentially containing asbestos.
No official plans have been made, but Commissioner Delane Anderson explained that if the building is demolished, there are grant opportunities that would allow the county to pursue building options in the future.
The annex, located at 500 Pocatello Ave, housed the Power County Extension office, the Power County Building Administrator, the Power County Noxious Weed Control offices, the Gerald Fehringer Youth Center, and the Power County Museum.
All entities were evacuated last fall, with the former three temporarily relocated to 127 Idaho St and the Gerald Fehringer Youth Center relocated to the basement of the 710 Fort Hall Ave Methodist Church.
As for the Power County Museum, which opened in 2007 and housed many historical artifacts and records of the area, a local church may have a solution to its current homeless status.
Kent Rudeen, a local resident and member of St. John’s Episcopal Church located at 328 Roosevelt Ave, announced the possibility of the church being passed into the hands of the Power County Museum.
“I’m a member of a very small, faithful, long-term congregation next door in the Episcopal Church,” Rudeen said during the public meeting at 308 Roosevelt Ave. “We, this spring, decided that it’s kind of unsustainable for the few of us that are all over 70 (years) to maintain the church, so we have approached (Commissioner Anderson) and we’d like to find a way to pass the building onto the museum.”
No official plans or decisions have been made on this either, as the building is not owned by the congregation, but Rudeen said “They think it’s going to happen”.
County commissioners also presented a concept for a project that would result in a new building being constructed near the county fairgrounds at 2745 Fairgrounds Rd. The roughly 14,000 square foot building would include a reception, a lobby, a large conference room, two training rooms, six offices, a 3-bay shop, restrooms, and a new parking lot.
The county’s extension office, planning and zoning offices, and weed control offices would be housed within this building.
“It’s still up in the air, and it’s still just an idea,” said Commissioner William Lasley.
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