Centralia City Council accepts donation for Fort Borst Park Blockhouse repairs; work expected to start late spring

Jan. 25—Repairs to the Fort Borst Park Blockhouse are set to begin sometime in the late spring after the Centralia City Council unanimously approved a donation of materials and labor to replace rotting logs on the Blockhouse during the council's meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

"Considering its age and the environment that it's in and the fragility of a log structure, the Blockhouse is in relatively good condition, but it is in need of some attention," Centralia Deputy City Manager and Parks Director Amy Buckler said at the meeting.

Two timber logs on the south side of the Blockhouse are rotting, which is the main concern.

Buckler said the volunteers who had stepped up offering their services to replace the rotting logs included former Centralia mayors Bonnie Canaday and Lee Coumbs, Peter Lahmann and Kifer Construction owner Chuck Kifer.

"Mr. Kifer owns a local construction company and he would like to donate the use of his construction company to do the job," Buckler added.

Donations of labor and materials like this require approval of both the Centralia Parks Board and the city council, according to Buckler.

Lahmann explained efforts to repair the Blockhouse have been ongoing for more than a year, and logs have already been milled and readied to be installed.

"We just need to put our crew together and Chuck has offered to bring his crew in," Lahmann said. "We also have Brian Dow and Scott Tenant, they're retired carpenters."

He added they are preparing to stabilize the structure first before lifting it to remove and replace the rotting logs.

"If you go up and look at it right now on the east side, there's a metal pole attached to it, and we came up with that design to help us lift the upper portion of the structure," said Lahmann. "... We did a little test to make sure it's going to work, and (the Blockhouse) is still standing."

According to Lahmann, the repairs will be done sometime after March or April, as some of the volunteers have other obligations to take care of along with waiting for the rainy season to end.

Once construction does start, Lahmann anticipates it to be completed within a couple days.

Other repairs to the Blockhouse might be needed as well, including roof repair and cleaning.

"We'll look at some of this and if we have time to do it while we're (replacing rotting logs), we'll make some other repairs," Lahmann said.

"We know how important this structure is to the City of Centralia, and we've done everything we can to ensure the integrity of it will survive the repair," Kifer added.

While repairs are ongoing, proper safety measures will be taken too, Kifer told the council.

Buckler restated the risks of working on an old structure like this, as even with the precautions taken by Kifer and his crew, the structure could still become damaged.

"We could do nothing and let it continue to deteriorate, or we could take these steps to start restoring the structure, recognizing the inherent risk," Buckler said.

The Blockhouse itself was originally constructed over 1855 and 1856 and moved to its current location in 1922. In 1963, repairs to the Blockhouse were made by the Centralia Chamber of Commerce along with other community groups, replacing rotting logs, building a foundation and making interior renovations.

Centralia City Councilor Max Vogt proposed helping protect the structure from the elements in the future and suggested raising money to construct a roof over it.

"Or a building even, where it could become a ... historic attraction where we could get other displays and stuff around it," Vogt said. "But just keeping it out of the rain, it just seems like something that would be worth preserving because I can't imagine this lasting another hundred years with the weather we have here."

For more information on Fort Borst Park, visit https://www.cityofcentralia.com/Facilities/Facility/Details/Fort-Borst-Park-39.