King County awards funding for historic barn preservation to nine property owners, six for farms in Snoqualmie Valley
Published 8:30 am Friday, August 5, 2016
Six barns, three milk houses, one milking parlor, and one chicken house in King County’s eastern and southern rural areas have received ‘Barn Again’ grants totaling more than $235,000 through the County’s Historic Preservation Program.
The funds are designated for stabilization or repairs to the buildings. Among the grant recipients are six historic farms in Carnation and Duvall. The following grants were awarded:
• The 1932 milk house and bottling shed at the Dolder Farm in Carnation was awarded funding for window and electrical repairs and paint;
• The 1953 milking parlor at Goose and Gander Farm in Carnation was awarded funding to remove non-historic additions and repair the roof and electrical systems;
• Hill Crest Farm in Carnation, built in 1919, received funding to lift the barn and install a new foundation and floor slab to continue its use as a draft horse and storage facility;
• The 1918 barn at Keller Rusch Farm in Carnation received funding to replace the floor, rafters, and roof to continue its use sheltering turkey chicks and storing hay;
• The dairy barn and one of the milk houses at Novelty Hill Farm in Duvall, built in 1932, were allocated funds for raising the structures and pouring new foundations and slabs;
• The 1931 Quaale barn and milk house in Carnation receive funding for roof repairs;
• The 1949 Colasurdo Barn in Renton was awarded funding to repair the roof and gutters to continue its current use as a horse boarding and rescue facility;
• The barn at Goodnow Farm on Vashon Island, built in 1924, received funding to replace its cedar shake roof; and
• The 1932 chicken house at the historic Snow Homestead on Vashon Island was awarded funding to stabilize walls and replace the roof.
Historic Preservation Program staff held a number of free grant workshops around the county, while King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert also helped get the word out by going door to door with fliers announcing the program.
“The total amount of funding that was requested shows how great the need is to help owners of these wonderful historic buildings save and continue using them,” Lambert said. “These barns add so much to the workability, character and charm of our rural areas.”
“We received so many worthy projects that it was really hard for the grant panel to decide which ones to fund,” said Historic Preservation Officer Jennifer Meisner. “The good news is that we still have about half of the total $500,000 that was allocated to this program, so applicants that weren’t funded this round can reapply next year.”
Twenty-two grant applications were received and the total amount of funding requested for projects was just short of $1 million.
Grants awarded ranged from roughly $6,000 to $41,000, with many applicants contributing some level of matching funds or in-kind donation of labor to help the county funds go further, although that was not required.
The grant panel that reviewed applications followed specific evaluation criteria, including how well the project preserves the historic character of the building, urgency of the repair, feasibility of the project, if the project helps keep the building in an agriculture-related use, and public benefit. They also considered geographic distribution and variety of agricultural building types.
The “Barn Again” historic barn preservation grant program is funded through King County and 4Culture’s Building for Culture Initiative, which leveraged early payoff of Kingdome debt to provide significant funding for cultural facilities and historic properties throughout the county. Applications for the 2017 grant round will be available next spring.
For more information, contact Todd Scott, King County Preservation Architect, todd.scott@kingcounty.gov or call (206) 477-4545.
