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Bigelow House takeover by state parks put on hold

Budget constraints mean uncertain future for city's oldest residence

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published December 11, 2008

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The State Parks and Recreation Commission has stepped back from plans to take over Olympia's oldest house, citing budget constraints.

Local history buffs were hopeful that giving the house to the state, plus $100,000 in repair funding set aside by the Legislature this year, would guarantee a future for the Bigelow House.

"We thought everything was golden. The Legislature did indeed appropriate that money, and we have been working with state parks," said Karen Johnson, director of the Bigelow House museum. "Then of course — boom — all the problems with the state budget, and the deficit."

The parks commission has decided it can't afford to take on a 150-year-old historic property at the same time it's making deep cuts to existing parks and services.

"We don't know what's going on with our budget, and historic places are very expensive," said Virginia Painter, spokeswoman for the commission.

Plans to take ownership of the house are on hold, but talks continue, she said.

"It's not that we don't want it, but we've got to be able to take it and be responsible about it," Painter said.

The Bigelow House, inhabited by four generations of the family for which it is named, was built about 1860.

The Bigelow House Preservation Association owns the property near East Bay Drive. It has an agreement with the city of Olympia to care for the house's grounds, and it planned to continue offering tours after the state took the deed to the property.

But the nonprofit group's $25,000 to $30,000 annual budget doesn't cover the improvements that the wood-framed Victorian house needs, Johnson said. Most of the $100,000 granted by the Legislature was going to be taken up repairing the porch, which is rotting, she added.

At the least, transferring the title to the state would have relieved the association of insurance and utility expenses, Johnson said.

"It would have ensured the longevity of the structure of the house. We're kind of back to square one in trying to nickel- and-dime it to keep the house operating," she said. "If push comes to shove, we may have to sell off a piece of land to pay our bills. We don't want to do that."

The association and the parks commission have a good relationship, Johnson and Painter say.

But the governor charged the agency with making $2 million in cuts by June in the latest round of cost reductions, and budget writers must bridge an expected $4.6 billion gap in the next two-year budget.

Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Thurston County, supported making the house state property and said all parties will have to revisit the arrangement — including what happens to the $100,000 that the Legislature budgeted for the project.

"The issue needs to be resolved. It is a major historic resource of the state," she said. "We'll have to have a meeting of concerned people to talk about it."

The preservation association hosted its tour of historic homes last weekend, and the annual event raised enough money to pay for about a month's worth of operations, Johnson said. The board of directors plans to meet this weekend to discuss plans.