One of the oldest eyesores in Marthasville was put on borrowed time last July, when the city’s board of aldermen contracted with a construction service to demolish the town’s derelict hat factory on Two Street, along with six abandoned homes. However, city leaders have become split over whether to remove the entirety of the old factory or keep a small portion of it, leading to a bitter argument that unfolded last week.

The city government acquired the nearly 24,000-square-foot hat factory building several years ago when it was donated by the previous property owner. The city has been using a 4,000-square-foot section for equipment storage, but also sought and received stated grant funding to demolish some or all of the building.

The majority of the factory was demolished in February, but the city’s storage area and another section remain upright. Mayor David Lange told the board of aldermen on March 2 that it would be a waste to destroy the storage space while the city is putting it to use.

This comment launched a tense debate between Lange and West Ward Aldermen Leo Meyer and Christopher DeVore, who said the exact same debate had already been brought to the board before the demolition began. Aldermen voted at the time to raze the entire factory and be rid of it, and that was the directive they gave in the contract for the demolition, DeVore said.

The fact that the storage area is still standing, despite that directive, angered DeVore, who accused Mayor Lange of changing the contractor’s instructions without the board’s consent.

DeVore said all the residents around the factory, including himself, have wanted that whole building gone for a long time, and the board had made its decision accordingly. “We work for the people of the city, and the people want that building down,” DeVore declared.

The debate quickly became a tangled argument, with Lange suggesting the vote to demolish the whole factory was poorly thought out, while the two aldermen accused Lange of intentionally resisting the board’s instructions and telling the demolisher not to finish tearing down the factory.

“You went against what the board decided!” DeVore said. “The project scope says that building is coming down. That contract has been signed!”

Lange, for his part, said the city’s excess equipment is currently being stored outdoors at the city lagoon, which will cause the equipment to deteriorate faster. The city has no other viable storage options, he said, except to eventually remove the water tower outside city hall years from now, and pay to put up a shed that would only be about 2,000 square feet.

“It doesn’t make sense to tear down a building that’s already paid for, and then spend a couple hundred-thousand in taxpayers’ money to build another shed to replace it,” Lange said. He argued it would be more responsible to pay an estimated $10,000 to $20,000 to fix up the remaining portion of the factory and fence it in to make it less of an eyesore.

At the height of the argument, Lange and DeVore were increasingly talking over one another, until DeVore angrily shouted at Lange to stop interrupting and disrespecting him.

The debate was eventually settled, at least temporarily, by the two aldermen from the East Ward. Alderman Nick Lange said he had consistently agreed with keeping the factory storage area, but was originally outnumbered on the issue 3-1. Since then, Alderman Dan Grafrath resigned and was replaced by appointed Alderman Gary Dixon.

Dixon sought to find a reasonable compromise amongst the argument. He said he would like to know the price of restoring the remainder of the factory building before deciding to remove it entirely. Dixon also commented that he doesn’t want the city’s equipment being stored outside for an indefinite time.

“Our lagoon is a mess down there, while we’re trying to clean up the city. We’re writing warnings for stuff like abandoned cars and storage containers, and here we’ve got that,” Dixon said. “We’re not setting a good example of cleaning up the city if all we do is make a bigger mess.”

Aldermen Dixon and Lange voted to retain the storage building at least until March 16, when the mayor is expected to have firm prices on restoring it. Aldermen Meyer and DeVore voted against that course. Because it was a tie vote, Mayor Lange broke the tie in favor of keeping the building.

The issue will likely be revisited during the board’s next public meeting the evening of March 16.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the city government purchased the hat factory property. The building was donated to the city by its previous owner. The Record regrets this error.