BROWNSTOWN
After a lengthy search, the Brownstown Town Council may have finally found a use for the Ewing Depot.
During a recent council meeting, Conner Barnette with Brownstown Ewing Main Street requested the use of the historic building at 1200 W. Spring St. for that organization’s board meetings.
Barnette said he knows the council has been considering potential uses for the depot since it was given to the town by Darlene Butt, who along with her late husband, Jim, spearheaded the restoration of the building.
He said he has had some discussions with Dan Robison, president of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, about using the depot for meetings of that organization, too.
"If they need to meet now that they are the Jackson County Chamber and no longer the Seymour Chamber in Brownstown, they would have access to that, whether it is a networking event or a board meeting over here," Barnette said. "They are starting to get some board members from out in the county."
Robison recently sent a letter to the town requesting use of the depot for meetings and other activities, but he was unable to attend the council meeting.
In his letter, Robison said the chamber would have some interest in using the depot for small meetings, gatherings and occasional remote office hours if possible.
"The availability of this space would allow us to better serve Brownstown and other communities," Robison wrote.
Barnette said the Brownstown Ewing Main Street board has been meeting at Spurgeon Funeral Home, the courthouse and other places.
"Just wherever we can find space," Barnette said. "I don’t know if that’s something you guys would be interested in, but if you are looking for a use, I think it would a great spot for Dan and for us."
Councilwoman Sharon Koch asked if the groups wishing to use the deport for meetings would need to store anything there.
"I don’t think there would be much storage there, maybe a desk in the corner," Barnette said.
He said there would be no problems if other community groups wanted to meet there, as well.
Council President Gregg Goshorn said the council would need to discuss the issue before giving an answer to the requests.
"Take your time," Barnette said.
Later in the meeting, Goshorn briefly discussed the requests to use the depot for meetings. He said it would be important to determine if any group wanted to maintain permanent space in the depot because if they did, the town would need to require them to pay rent.
In a related matter involving the depot, town attorney Travis Thompson said he has started working on the process of taking care of some issues involving the deed.
Butt gave the depot, opened by the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad in 1913, to the town in 2018 after restoring the building with the help of people donating their time and money to the project. Although Butt signed the deed for the depot over to the town at that time, it only included a portion of the property and not the entire site.