Schmidt also raised concerns about the purchase setting a precedent.
If the Legislature doesn't approve operating funds, the board would have the option of transferring ownership of the homestead to the local tourism group, Paaverud said.
LAWRENCE WELK BIRTHPLACE FULL
State Treasurer Kelly Schmidt voted against the purchase, saying she supported buying the homestead but wanted operating funds secured before the sale closed.Įrbele said when lawmakers approved $100,000 in the Historical Society budget to buy the homestead "we knew full well that when you buy something, you're going to have to operate it," he said. Secretary of State Al Jaeger, who like Welk is a descendant of Germans from Russia, made the motion to purchase the property, saying that while the site is Welk's boyhood home, "it represents, I think, far more than that." "I have a very good feeling that if the state takes over, it will be a great asset to the state and to the community," Evelyn Schwab said after the board's vote. The Schwab sisters said they enjoyed giving tours of the site, but the time had come to sell it. The property about 75 miles southeast of Bismarck has been on the market for about two and a half years. How much of that repair work must be done before the purchase moves forward has yet to be determined, Paveruud said.
An assessment last year by the Historical Society pegged the cost of needed repairs at $488,000 to $578,000. The state estimates operating costs at about $69,000 per year.įriday's vote to buy the property also reflected lawmakers' requirement that the homestead be repaired before the state buys it. The Historical Society will then take over operation of the site on Jthat is, assuming the 2015 Legislature approves operating funds.
Board members voted to buy the 6-acre homestead on the condition that the Tri-County Tourism Alliance will operate the site until June 30, 2015, which it has verbally committed to doing, Historical Society Director Merl Paveruud said.