The city of St. Joseph will not be purchasing the former Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters from the U.S. Coast Guard. The federal government needed a decision by the end of this month with an asking price of $445,000. The cost to move the duplex to the base of the north pier at Tiscornia Park and renovations would have been several hundred thousand dollars, and Mayor Mike Garey summed up the feelings of the commission.
“This is just a bridge too far,” said Garey. “It’s unfortunate. It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of the auction. It’s a tough one, but myself, I just can’t commit myself to doing this.”
The auction to which he referred is how the Coast Guard will now sell the building and the land, but no date or minimum bid have been set. There is a chance the price could be low enough for the city to consider a bid, but even so, commissioners unanimously had reservations over the costs of the renovations and moving the facility. Commissioner Jeff Richards added he doesn’t feel the city has the money for such an endeavor.
“I hope seven years in the future, 20 years in the future, we don’t look back and say ‘boy, we should have bought that,’” said Richards. “That may be right, but right now, we don’t have the money. We have other things (on which) we need to spend.”
The city began considering the purchase when approached with the idea by the Coast Guard earlier this year.
