The city of Golden has turned down a $200,000 grant from the State Historical Fund after coming to an impasse on how that money could have been spent.
City Council approved a resolution to decline the grant, .
“After conferring with city leadership regarding the impasse and the differences in approaches, it has been concluded that the city must pursue a different path,” Golden City Manager Jason Slowinski said in a letter to the State Historical Fund.
The impasse came down to asbestos abatement in the building’s interior.
Contractors hired by the city recommended asbestos found in the wallpaper be removed entirely; State Historical Fund staff did not agree, asserting asbestos should be removed only from areas affected by other work, citing preservation as the priority.
The state’s protocol would far exceed the budget of the project, originally projected at $450,000, according to a city memo.
Golden History Museum and city staff said they were also concerned about a clause in the grant’s language that essentially gave the state control over all changes to the building for the next 20 years.
“We’re very concerned that this thing could spiral financially larger and we have real concerns about the investment of $200,000, if this gets big, to give them the full oversight of any of the choices that need to be made” on future alterations of the property, said Rod Tarullo, director of parks, recreation and golf, at a March 17 study session.
Golden History Museums is under the purview of the parks department.
The city already pledged $200,000 that would have gone toward mostly structural improvements to the building, which was originally built in 1867 and has served as a history museum after a grassroots community effort saved it from demolition in the 1970s.
The city now will contribute $200,000 more to make up for the grant and another $80,000 to cover asbestos abatement using general reserve funds.
When the grant was awarded, the plan was to give the Astor House its long-needed structural repairs .
However, the funds that would have gone to that new programming are now going toward the repairs.
The parks department has added questions about the Astor House to the community survey going out next week as part of its master plan update, said Nathan Richie, Golden History Museum’s director.
“I think it has to do, in large part, with use priority and resources,” Richie said, “and we want to make sure that, as the city is already investing a significant amount of money in the stabilization portion, we really want to make sure the community is interested and excited in the direction we are going.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com or @JosieKlemaier
