With a vote of 5-1, Chardon City Council approved the design and color scheme of the long-awaited Heritage House Thursday, setting the project in motion for construction to begin in the spring.
After an hour-long presentation and discussion with Dale Griffis, design/builder with Cold Harbor Building Company, plus input from the audience, council approved a replacement of the old log cabin on Chardon Square with a larger structure in the same spot.
The 2,400-square-foot Heritage House will include a meeting room that can seat 64 at tables, a concession kitchen with a window facing the square, an evaporator room for making maple syrup, restrooms and a utility area.
The primary objection to the plan to replace the log cabin came from Chardon businessman Dennis Kileen, who spoke for about 15 minutes about the history of the log cabin and said it wasn’t too late for council to jettison the architect’s plans and renovate the cabin.
After his plea, council voted to have Cold Harbor of Chardon go ahead, with Councilwoman Deborah Reiter voting “No.”
Mayor Phil King made it clear that council was voting on whether or not to go forward with the project.
Griffis promised to provide City Manager Randy Sharpe with the final plans that will include more details about the hip roof and the chair rail around the meeting room. Griffis said waiting until the March 19 meeting for approval of the small details would put him a month behind on the project.
“We’ve already held it up for eight years,” King said.
Check back tomorrow for full story.