SHELBY — The City of Shelby’s original firehouse was established 152 years ago.
In 1976, a building was constructed behind the 1870’s fire station due to the need for more space. Located next to the Black Fork River in downtown Shelby, the firehouse was often vulnerable to flooding.
The Shelby Fire Department cut the ribbon for its current High School Avenue station in November of 2018 — a station made possible largely thanks to a major donation from the late Grant Milliron.
Since moving its fire station to High School Avenue, the city has kept ownership of the aging Main Street firehouse — mainly using the building as storage space.
Future use of the historic structure has been a topic of discussion among city officials for some time.
On Monday, Shelby Mayor Steve Schag addressed a possible plan of action during City Council’s regular meeting.
Schag said Richland Engineering Limited provided the city with a report of the building, including estimated costs of repairs, modifications and maintenance issues.
“There were several observations and … words of warning for someone who would seek to use this structure in the future,” he said.
Schag, along with Shelby Project Coordinator Joe Gies and Shelby Fire Chief Mike Thompson, physically revisited the old firehouse to observe the reported areas of concern.
“I believe it is time for us to relinquish ownership and to pursue if someone else would want to take ownership of the building and to find maybe a new purpose for it,” he told councilmembers Monday.
City hopes to find ‘good stewards’ for old firehouse
No immediate decisions or actions regarding the historic firehouse were made Monday by Schag or City Council.
The mayor said one of the next steps will be speaking with the Shelby Historic Preservation Commission.
Third Ward Councilman Eric Cutlip agreed with Schag’s proposal to end the city’s municipal use of the building — citing the expenses Shelby would face if it decided to maintain ownership.
Fourth Ward Councilman Nathan Martin echoed similar remarks, stating he was glad a course of action was proposed.
“We’re going to get to a point (if the city maintains ownership) where it’s going to have no value not only to us, but to anybody who could possibly come in with private funds or state grants to be able to do anything about it,” he said.
“I’m glad we have a sense of urgency to do this. It’s not a matter that we don’t like the fire station or we want to get rid of the fire station.
“We don’t have the wherewithal to be able to put the amount of money into it. And to what end? Just to be a structure without anybody occupying it?” Martin said.
Along with Schag, he emphasized caution regarding possible new owners for the historic structure — if and when the time comes.
“That is the exact discussion we’ve been having — in total agreement,” Schag said.
In other action Monday, City Council:
— denied to request a liquor permit hearing for NY Singh LLC dba Shelby Carry Out, 116 N. Gamble St.
— approved the Shelby Little (Girl Scout) House as a local landmark.
— approved the Seltzer Park Gateway as a local landmark.
— authorized the purchase of salt from Cargill, Inc., in conjunction with the Richland County Board of Commissioners for the purchase of rock salt.
— declared the intent of the City of Shelby to sell property no longer needed for municipal purposes through an internet auction/sale for the calendar year 2024.
— declared a 2006 Ford ambulance used by the Shelby Fire Department as unneeded and authorized Schag to sell the unneeded property on internet auction.