Momentum shifts to save historic church building in Caro
A rapidly growing number of people are stepping up efforts to save the historic building that used to house the Old Trinity Church in Caro.
As The Advertiser reported March 15, Caro city officials are turning to the community for help in deciding what to do with a former church building at 102 Joy St. that’s on the National Register of Historic Places — and in “tremendous need of repair.”
Officials want public input for how to handle the estimated $400,000 in repairs needed at the city-owned building. An open house is set for the Caro Municipal Building on April 3 at 6:30 p.m.
The building is currently rented by the Thumb Area Center for the Arts (TACA) — and many who have spent time in the structure say the condition is being severely overstated.
One group called the Citizens to Save the Caro Historical Building has started a Facebook page and plans to hold a meeting at 6:30 p.m., March 28, at the Caro Area District Library in anticipation of the April 3 open house. Discussion will include the potential of buying the building.
“City Council has failed to allocate proper maintenance funds for decades. (The building) is now in terrible disrepair,” a posting on the page reads. “City Council members and the new City Manager have stated on record that TACA doesn’t use the building for much of anything but storage space. In fact, hundreds of people use the building every year.” (Read more)
(This story originally appeared in the March 22, 2017 print edition of The Tuscola County Advertiser and can be read online in its entirety here.)
