Marthasville’s Board of Aldermen has approved spending more than $13,000 in park funds for extensive repairs on the historical Grabs House and Store buildings in Rusche Park.

Along with a long list of caulking and minor repair needs, some of the logs that make up the structure have developed hollow areas that need to be filled in, officials said.

The buildings were restored and relocated for use as a local museum in 1990. The logs of the structures are treated every two years to preserve them, but moisture has caused portions to rot from the inside, and the logs have shrunk somewhat over time, leaving cracks, according to the board that oversees Rusche Park. Now, the rotted holes and exposed spaces between logs need to be filled in.

One company submitted a proposal to do the repair work, officials said. GK Meyer Construction & Repair out of Franklin County offered to do the job for a total of $13,275. 

The Rusche Park Board recommended approving the expense during its Aug. 22 meeting. Aldermen accepted the recommendation at a public meeting Sept. 27, voting 3-0 with West Ward Alderman Leo Meyer absent.

“It seems like quite a bit, but if you let it go longer and longer, the building will be on the ground sooner or later,” said West Ward Alderman Christopher DeVore.

Work could possibly begin later this fall.

Expenses from Rusche Park and the Grabs House and Store museum are paid for by a special fund in the city’s budget that is separate from other expenses. A combined $33,000 is set aside for park and museum maintenance and park development in the 2017-2018 budget.

The Grabs House and Store is typically open on the first Sunday of each month from 1-4 p.m., although it closes depending on winter weather, Rusche Park Board member Gene Ahman said.

He explained that needed repairs were pointed out by a city employee several years ago, but the park board didn’t start looking into getting repairs done until last year.

Park board members said GK Meyer Construction was the only company that submitted a proposal in response to requests for bids.

Mayor David Lange said the company might be the only one in the area that does this kind of restoration work.

“For that amount of money, you’d like to see an additional second or third bid, but (the park board) has been working on this six or eight months,” Lange said. “It’s hard to get three bids when there aren’t three companies out there that will bid on it.”

Marthasville will spend $13,275 from its Rusche Park fund for structural repairs on the historical Grabs House and Store in the park. Record photo/Cindy Gladden.