Weekly Barn Update, October 8, 2014

Coordination with City and Westcott Homes continues on the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Coordination has begun on draft agreement between the developer and DFA.

Work on the next submittal to the City continues for site layout approval.  This provides the location of the reconstructed barn and is part of the approval process, but will not have construction level detail. It will be more of a map of the new site, with the location of the barn marked.

Our focus this week has been on the exterior final appearance of the barn as required for this stage of permitting.  Later this week we will have meetings with our architect, Milbrandt Architects, and the City to discuss details of the planned submittal.

News:

The Barn failed on its southern face.  Emergency meetings are being held to consider our options.  We called a contractor who has been working with us, and on October 7, 2014, he came out and put two house jacks inside the barn. The Barn Project team met outside the barn that evening to look at the damage. The City of Duvall and Westcott Homes were also contacted. Work will continue on the barn this week. We are in the process of hiring the structural engineer for the project.

The Barn is unsafe at this time, please don’t go to site.

We have known that much of the barn will need to be rebuilt. This Saturday we will be further exploring our options during our Community Open House, at the Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center, from 11:00am until 2:00pm. Critical decisions will be made during the Open House, so we encourage everyone in the community to come join the conversation.

It has been asked, “So why didn’t the DFA put a roof on the building 10 years ago?”

Answer:  DFA didn’t own the barn. DFA didn’t have a contract to access the barn. DFA did not own the property where the barn sits or any other property to move the barn to. So instead of putting money into a barn that DFA didn’t own and had no way of acquiring, DFA saved the money, in hopes that an opportunity would arise to breath life back into the project. The DFA has not touched the funds that were raised ten years ago. You can read our Annual Report and see that the money is safe in an account and has not been spent. Now we are presented with this new opportunity, and we are embracing it.

Upcoming Events:

Community Open House, Saturday, October 11, 2014, from 11:00am until 2:00pm, Duvall Visitor and Centennial Center

Carnation Farmer’s Market, October Arts Month: Tuesday, October 21, 2014, Linoleum Printing Workshop with artist, Dan Cautrell, sponsored by Duvall Foundation for the Arts

Hoedown for the Barn, Friday, October 24, 2014, from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, Christel Haven Equestrian Center, tickets on sale now

We are preparing for our Open House, and hope to see everyone there. Thank you for your interest.

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