The WaterWorks buildng was dee... HOLLY, Michigan – For more than five years, a village-mandated “UNSAFE – ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK” sign has hung on the door of Holly’s historical WaterWorks building. The sign was placed there in 2006 after Holly’s former Fire Chief Jack Hollands was seriously injured by falling through the wooden plank flooring into the basement of the building.
Having sat dormant for more than a half decade, the topic of what to do about the historical building once again came to the forefront, this time in the form of a public hearing held during Tuesday’s Village Council meeting.
History of the WaterWorks Building
Kayakers and canoeists are familiar with the old WaterWorks building as it sits on the west side of Broad Street, adjacent to the Mill Pond, and the Shiawassee River.
The Holly WaterWorks building ...
Historically, Holly’s waterworks system was the first public waterworks system in Oakland County, dating back to 1869, and possibly the first municipal waterworks system in the state of Michigan, according to Sue Julian, president of the Headwaters Trails organization.
Julian said the building was constructed in response to fires that swept through the village of Holly in the 1870s. Originally, water was piped to homes with a spigot that simply ran all of the time. Back then, there wasn’t a charge for water.
Over the years, the village of Holly installed more pumping capacity, added filtration and chlorination processes, and began charging residents for water.
The area where the WaterWorks building now sits was the original site of Stiff’s Mill. Eventually, The Milling Company expanded its operations across Broad Street with a lumber mill stretching nearly to Hadley Street. There they manufactured barrel staves to contain Holly Velvet Flour produced at The Milling Company.
To date, the WaterWorks building houses a Leffel turbine horizontal waterwheel. While historians do not believe it is the original wheel, it is thought to date back to approximately 1910.
Shown here to the right of the...
The Holly Milling Company originally had multiple waterwheels. It is believed the current basement of the WaterWorks building was once a part of the The Milling Company basement. The wooden part of the building may predate the brick portion, and is visible in old photographs of The Milling Company. The WaterWorks turbine powered The Milling Company, and subsequently, Holly’s waterworks system.
After Holly Milling Company burned down in December of 1910, the loss was so great, that owners opted not to rebuild.
The WaterWorks building continued to pump water throughout the 1970s. Along with the turbine and waterwheel driven pump, other components appear to still be in good enough repair to warrant restoration.
Residents want action
Several residents attended Tuesday’s Village Council meeting, specifically for the purpose of voicing their opinions on the potential fate of the WaterWorks building.
Sherylyn Everly is a member of Holly’s Environmental Committee, lives in close proximity to the building, and said it’s time for the village of Holly to make a commitment to the building – one way or the other.
“That building is a liability to the village of Holly as it stands right now,” she said. “We’d like to see it either turned into an asset, or get it off the books.” Over the years, Everly said she has witnessed several other attempts to improve the building with minimal results.
“It’s basically an attractive nuisance, and it’s an accident waiting to happen,” she said. “The waterworks wheel is the very most important thing historically that’s in the building, and I thoroughly agree that it’s worth preserving.”
Calling for a “purposeful use,” Everly suggested reinstating the wheel to produce electricity again, pulling the wheel out of the building and making it into a pedestal for WaterWorks Park, or donating it to an entity that will restore it for historical purposes.
“If anything is going to happen, it must have the commitment by council made – whether it’s restoring or demolishing – council has to back the decision,” she said.
Other residents like Marlo Davidson, Park Commissioner Joyce Leece, and downtown business owner Lisa Clark spoke during the meeting in support of saving the building and its contents.
“That building happens to be one of five over many years that has been considered to be an asset for a possible historic site for families to visit when they come to Holly,” Davidson said. Davidson recalled a similar situation with the Holly Mill. “It was a long wait for something positive to happen with the mill,” she said. “But if we have to privatize (the WaterWorks building) like we did the mill, so be it, but I would like to see it saved.”
Leece agreed. “There’s nothing I would like more than to see the building restored,” she said. “But the sad truth is, the Park Commission has no money – I don’t mean we don’t have very much money – we have no money.”
Speaking from the podium, Sue Julian presented council members with seven reasons for keeping and restoring the WaterWorks building.
In addition to the building being central to Holly’s history, Julian said the building has been recognized and supported by the Shiawassee Historical Preservation Organization, the National Parks Service, the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, and many local researchers.
Julian said the WaterWorks building could potentially become a “Welcome to Holly” site, noting that author Doc Fletcher named Holly and the Shiawassee River as one of Michigan’s “hidden beauties” in his book, “Paddling Michigan’s Hidden Beauty: the River, the Towns, the Taverns.” In discussing the Shiawassee River, Fletcher also lists several local shops and eateries in Holly.
“It could also be a living museum with artifacts that people have collected over the years that have to do with that building and the waterworks and power generation,” Julian said.
A rendering shows what Holly's...
With an outpouring of citizen support, Julian said she believes the WaterWorks building is a “feasible restoration” as supported by already-completed Aprecis Engineering renderings of the building and by that fact that it houses a working turbine, governor, and wooden gears. “There is deterioration of course, but it’s comparable to other sites that have been neglected and have been restored in the past,” she said.
Julian said a significant investment in preservation has already occurred with the building, including documenting its history, making site improvements including signage, a pedestrian bridge, a canoe launch and walking paths, roof and window maintenance, and ongoing cutting and curing of lumber to be used for the eventual roof rebuilding project.
“The recommendation from our group – and remember we’re not a restoration group, but we are a group that would like to see that area preserved with historic context – would be to appoint a study committee to outline alternatives for council and to bring to your attention specific information.”
The building is secure
Rumors that the WaterWorks building was being accessed by area youth were squelched on Wednesday, as Julian, and local businessmen John Lauve and Randy Pierce toured the exterior of the building with Holly Chief of Police, Elena Danishevskaya.
On Wednesday, officials confir...
With the windows and doorways of the building thoroughly nailed shut or locked, the group observed no visible access points.
The front door of the facility is securely locked, and access to the building is regulated by the village of Holly until such time the building is deemed to be safe for entry.
WaterWorks citizen ad hoc committee forms As of Tuesday evening, Julian said nine volunteers had signed on to be a part of a citizens' ad hoc committee to discuss the alternatives pertaining to the WaterWorks building.
“This whole process is really in its beginning stages,” Julian said. “At this point, we’re simply a group of concerned citizens that have formed an ad hoc committee – we’re hoping that council will formally appoint a WaterWorks committee in the days ahead.”
Those still wishing to join the committee may contact Julian at (248) 634-3513.
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Comments
My favorite line from the article: "back then, there wasn’t a charge for water". Holly really was the place to be in the 1870s!
Can't say I see it holding much value for the village in the future though. If a private organization would be willing to take on the restoration with some type of usage that would create value for the residents, I'd say give it to them.
What's most encouraging is that a volunteer group emerged with a goal to develop a restoration plan within a set time-period. If they follow through on that, then there's little doubt that the funding will be found and restoring the building will go from "talk" to "reality".
If Mrs. Julian and the other volunteers want to spearhead the effort, all the more power to them and they should have the community's support.
If you care to volunteer please come by.
They are delegating and discussing the fact finding mission to see if it is viable and cost effective to save it over demolishing, and they hope it can be salvaged
The boarded up waterwheel building has been neglected for some years..Now the village wants to determine if it is to be restored or destroyed..I do hope the community will support the newly formed committee as it searches to come up with a sound, feasible plan.
As for a moratorium on ordinance enforcement in the village, I have not heard of that.
It sounds like the majority wish to do something with it. The next step is to develop project costs and see what options make the most sense for the community.
Quoting Toddski:
No one also ever mentioned that the Village intended, or was able, to take the lead responsibility for this issue, financially or otherwise. The Village owns the building as a part of the parks system--that is the extent to what has been established. A citizen's volunteer group has been created to explore options.
"lends itself to sounding like an official", please don't read anything into my comment that's not there.
The process isn't to that stage yet. Any action on the building or the park has to come to the village because it is village property. If a civic, conservation or volunteer group wishes to put together a project plan or project options and present it to the village then they are free to do so (and it costs nothing of the village at this point). The village hasn't committed any funds to the project and to my knowledge, there hasn't been a financial request made of the village at this point.
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