When most people look at it, they probably see an old, shabby barn – an eyesore to be demolished.
When Hank Szlenkier and Jennifer Lewis look at it, they see a rare piece of history to be preserved and a useful structure to help local kids stay out of trouble.
Szlenkier, the caseworker for Oxford-Addison Youth Assistance, and Lewis, a Youth Assistance volunteer, are working to convince Oxford Village officials to donate an old wooden barn located at 38 E. Burdick St. to the public organization and move it to Scripter Park.
The two-story carriage barn, built in 1875, currently sits on property owned by the Oxford Community Development Authority (OCDA).
Village officials are planning to re-route S. Mill St. through 38 E. Burdick St., which contains a house and the barn in question. Both structures will either have to be moved or demolished before that takes place.
Rather than having the old barn demolished, Szlenkier and Lewis asked the village council Aug. 26 to let Youth Assistance use the structure for its programs, which are aimed at helping at-risk kids steer clear of alcohol, drugs and crime, and make positive decisions in their lives.
In response, council unanimously approved a resolution giving Youth Assistance its “preliminary blessing” and encouraging the group to “move forward” by going to the OCDA and village parks and recreation committee.
Youth Assistance would like to move the barn to Scripter Park, near its “Children’s Community Service Garden,” which provides fresh vegetables to Oxford/Orion FISH and local senior citizens.
Szlenkier said the barn could be used to store the youths gardening equipment and any extra produce.
The barn could also be used to store donated bicycles for Youth Assistance’s bike safety and maintenance programs and its “bicycle recycling program,” which provides bikes to kids who want them, but can’t afford them, Szlenkier said.
Instead of continuing to spend tax dollars to rent storage space for its Youth Assistance’s extra office equipment and files, Szlenkier said the barn could provide a more cost-effective solution.
Lewis said she would like to see part of the barn used to start a 4-H-type program, where Youth Assistance kids could raise and care for small animals such as rabbitts and chickens.
“We can do so many things with this barn, but we can’t do anything if they tear it down,” Lewis said.
Szlenkier wants to have nationally-known barnwright Dave Ciolek – a licensed builder from Williamston, Michigan who specializes in repairing, straightening, converting and relocating historic barns – visit the barn site and assess the feasibility of moving the structure.
Szlenkier said based on his discussions with Ciolek about the barn, “if it’s a true mortise and tenon carriage barn, it’s a rare gem.”
“There are not many around,” Szlenkier said. “They’ve either been destroyed to make room for a garage or they’ve been cobbled into garages.”
“We would like to preserve it for future generations to see what life was like back then,” he added.
However, before the barn can be moved or used by Youth Assistance, a few obstacles stand in the way.
The first obstacle is money.
Ciolek’s feasibility assessment carries a $500 price tag with it, according to Szlenkier.
In order to pay for Ciolek’s time and possibly raise some additional funds toward actually moving the barn, Szlenkier and Lewis asked council if it can use the house the OCDA owns at 38 E. Burdick St. to conduct a “haunted house” fund-raiser during the month of October.
Lewis said local artist Marcy McKinnon, whom she described as a “creative wonder,” has agreed to utilize her considerable talents to turn the vacant house into haunted house, which could be open “three or four weekends” next month.
Youth Assistance is considering asking local businesses to sponsor rooms in the haunted house to help cover the costs for materials, Lewis said.
On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the OCDA board voted to recommend to the village council that Youth Assistance be allowed to use the 38 E. Burdick St. house for the haunted house fund-raiser.
Should Ciolek determine that the barn can’t be relocated, Szlenkier and Lewis said any funds raised above the $500 fee would go toward Youth Assistance.
Council appointed members Steve Allen and Renee Donovan and village Manager Mark Slown to a “barn fund-raising task force” (in conjunction with Youth Assistance) to aid in the project.
The second obstacle is bureaucracy.
OCDA Chairperson Sue Bossardet was upset that Szlenkier and Lewis didn’t come before her board first.
“As the owners of the property and the house and barn on there, I really feel that it was more appropriate to go to the OCDA first, before the council,” she said. “For the most part, the OCDA board, I don’t think even knows anything about this idea.”
“On a personal note, for the lack of a better word, I’m kind of offended that it’s all been placed before the council before it’s even gone to the OCDA board,” Bossardet added.
Allen took “full responsibility” for Szlenkier and Lewis being at the council meeting, noting he asked them to come because “ultimately, if there is a haunted house, the village’s insurance would have to come into play on this.”
“I understand that Steve, but don’t you think the better idea would have been to go to the people who actually own the property?” Bossardet replied.
Slown noted that the village’s parks and recreation committee previously voted to support Youth Assistance’s idea of moving the barn to Scripter Park and recommended that it be considered.
However, Bossardet, who also sits on the parks and recreation committee, said the idea should go back to the committee so it can be discussed by the full board. She noted that not all the members were at the meeting Slown referenced.
Bossardet noted that further investigation is needed to determine if the OCDA can donate the barn.
Despite her comments, Bossardet wanted it known that she had nothing against the idea.
“I’m not saying any of this to be critical because I think it’s a wonderful idea, I just feel very uncomfortable about how this has all fallen out,” she said.
Councilwoman Donovan voiced her opinion that “donating a publicly-owned building to an individual service group. . .would not be a possibility” because it was paid for with tax dollars and therefore must be made available for public use.
“Could it be used for Youth Assistance activities? Yes. Could it be dedicated strictly to Youth Assistance activities? I really very, very highly doubt it,” she said.
If the building was donated to Youth Assistance, Donovan said she didn’t believe “you can put a privately-owned building on a publicly-owned piece of property (Scripter Park).”
“I’m just saying that this is something that would have to be looked into and worked out,” she said. “I don’t think it can be done strictly for Youth Assistance. It would have to involve – somehow, some way – the ability to be utilized by the entire community.”
Although Youth Assistance would prefer to be the barn’s sole user – mainly due to space limitations and security issues – Szlenkier said “we’re certainly amenable” to the idea of making the structure a “multi-use, public entity.”
However, Donovan was mistaken in characterizing Youth Assistance as a private, service group.
On the contrary, it is a public entity financed by tax dollars and overseen by public officials.
Oxford-Addison Youth Assistance is overseen by Oakland County Youth Assistance, which is administered under the auspices of Oakland County Probate Court/Circuit Court-Family Division.
Principal funding is provided through the court’s budget by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.
Oxford Township and Village, Addison Township and the Oxford school district provide additional local funding frm their budgets and sponsorship.
Representatives from each of the local governing bodies mentioned above serve on the OAYA’s Board of Directors and all board members must be approved by each government.
“They are Youth Assistance. They own it technically,” Szlenkier said of the local governments.
Szlenkier stressed the how accessible Youth Assistance programs and services are to the public.
“Our services are available to anybody in the geographic (Oxford) school district area,” he said.
Manager Slown said he believes money is a bigger obstacle to the barn project than local bureaucracy.
“At the end of the day, the challenge is money because if you have enough money, you can do this. That’s assuming you get the okay of the boards. And they’ll probably mainly be concerned with the financial aspects of it,” he said.
Regarding the legal questions and ownership issues raised by council members, Slown said, “I believe all that can be worked out.”
However, the manager stressed that this was only his opinion and the “final decision” is up to the various village boards.
Anyone interested in helping out with the barn-move project or the haunted house fund-raiser or both should call Oxford-Addison Youth Assistance at (248) 628-6710.