Pickerington to consider options for Sycamore Creek Park White Barn
Pickerington officials haven't decided what, if anything, should be done to the Sycamore Creek Park White Barn after a city board recommended it be razed and an inspection in the summer identified deterioration and previous repairs it deemed unconventional.
Sycamore Creek Park, which features more shelter houses and recreation fields and facilities than any other city park, is something of a centerpiece of Pickerington's park system. City officials estimate it's also the most-visited park.
At the entrance to Olde Pickerington Village, the park also features several community landmarks, including a 2.3-acre pond, an arboretum, a covered bridge, a gazebo and the White Barn.
Pertaining to the latter, city officials don't know how old the White Barn is. City Manager Greg Butcher and Pickerington City Council member Kevin Kemper said they've heard it dates back to the 1950s, and they're not sure of its repair history over the years.
On May 9, however, the city's Parks and Recreation Board recommended the barn be torn down due to structural issues.
The proposal came before the city commissioned a $2,250 structural evaluation of the barn by Indianapolis-based American Structurepoint Inc.
The firm July 11 submitted its report to the city, which stated "much of the barn is in fair-to-good condition."
However, the report added that several "safety-related concerns" were identified, which included:
The deteriorating west concrete foundation wall in the basement poses a risk to the overall structureas it continues to deteriorate. The wall will likely continue to crumble which would lead to aneventual failure. This wall supports weight from the roof and the upper story. Failure of this wallwould cause the framing above to settle, displace or collapse. Shoring, repair or replacement ofthe wall is recommended. We recommend that no one occupy the barn until repairs of this concretewall can be made by a qualified contractor with the assistance of a design professional.
The crushed wood of the bearing wall above the west basement wall indicates that the framing has been overstressed or that its structural load-carrying capacity has been compromised. Repairing damaged wood wall framing and strengthening the wall to support the anticipated load is recommended.
Posts that bear directly on the soil are susceptible to displacement and moisture-related damage and should be founded on appropriately sized concrete foundations. Providing proper foundations for unsupported posts is recommended.
The structural modifications, such as the installation of the double 2x10 column and the dry-stacked CMU (concrete masonry unit) posts, do not appear to have been constructed by conventional means, are likely not code-compliant and may not have the required strength or stability. Hiring a licensed engineer to analyze the structural modifications and provide appropriate alterations is recommended.
Replacing missing downspouts and providing drainage away from the building will prevent further deterioration of the siding and wall framing.
At this point, no decisions have been made as to the future of the barn.
Butcher said the barn serves no public use, aside from a storage space for the city and serving as the projection screen for the Parks and Recreation Department's "Friday Night Flicks" series, which typically is held Friday nights in June, July and August.
"We are still considering what to do with the barn and the completed assessment was part of that process," Butcher said. "In consideration of what to do with the structure, we felt part of the process of evaluating the barn and its use, both present and future, was to get a third-party assessment.
"Currently, the barn is only used for storage. It is locked and secured to prevent any public assess."
While the structural evaluation identified areas of concern, it did not provide cost estimates for repairing the barn. Demolition estimates also weren't provided.
Kemper, who is council's representative to the parks board, said concerns have grown over the safety of storing city property in the barn and he supports razing it and replacing it with another storage structure.
"No designs or anything like that have been determined," Kemper said. "My understanding is what we'll do when budgeting comes up is we'll start looking at priorities and we'll see if we can fit that into the budget for 2023 or 2024.
"I would hope for 2024, but we'll see how it goes."
Kemper said although officials don't know exactly when the White Barn was built, it has "no historical significance."
He added that should the barn be razed, the city would replace it with something that would enable the Friday Night Flicks series to continue at Sycamore Creek Park.
"I would hope that we wouldn't do the demolition until we're prepared to replace it, and we could do that all in one process," Kemper said.
Kemper said the city's administration is expected to present budget proposals to council as soon as this month.
Final decisions on the 2023 budget might not be completed until December, he said.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Pickerington to consider options for Sycamore Creek Park White Barn
