Historic building discussion prompts future action

Could a trip to Washington D.C. help the Pocatello Old Town buildings in need of maintenance? Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad thinks it’s worth a shot.

At Wednesday evening’s Historic Preservation Commission meeting, the mayor asked for the go-ahead to see what federal grants or groups would be able to help with Old Town buildings in need.

This comes after the Monarch building fire, which still has no known cause, but the mayor says this brings up a bigger concern. Blad said he wants to focus on how to help all Old Town buildings, not just the Monarch.

He said all Old Town buildings should be preserved, and sometimes the private property owners need some help in that regard, which means finding out what they need.

He consulted with the commission about an amount that would help, but both he and the commission said there are a number of factors that play into an amount. They discussed going into each Old Town building and finding out what needs to be done to bring it up to code.

Blad says there’s concern about the Monarch building, especially as it shares a wall with the Paris building.

“We need to just keep the faade of the building up,” said Blad. “At the end of the day, if those buildings can continue to be used for the purpose that they were, then we’re all going to be better off.”

Blad says this is still in the early stages of development. We will continue to follow this as it develops.