Lecompton ? Lecompton Township officials have taken a step toward building a new maintenance facility and perhaps tearing down an “eyesore” building in the center of town.

Township trustee Chuck Wright said this week the township had reached a deal to buy a 2-acre tract southwest of Lecompton for the new building.

Wright said the township, which maintains 52 miles of road in the Lecompton area, badly needed a new maintenance building, in part because the current one was too small for all the township’s equipment. Wright said the building, near the city’s post office, was in terrible shape.

“It leaks, the wind blows through it,” Wright said. “It is a wonder that it hasn’t blown down.”

Wright said the township negotiated a deal to pay $35,000 for the 2 acres, which are on East 500th Road, about 2.5 miles south of County Route 1023. The township is scheduled to close on the property Jan. 20. It is buying the property from Jennifer Decastro of Broken Bow, Okla., he said.

Wright said he hoped township board members would decide to tear down the existing maintenance shop, 320 E. Woodson.

“It is an eyesore,” he said. “Everybody in Lecompton would be happy to have it torn down.”

But Wright won’t be around to make that decision. After eight years on the board, Wright is leaving his post next month. He lost his bid for another term to Jay Robertson during the last election.

Chuck Wright's office at the Lecompton township building has just about seen its last days. The dilapidated maintenance building and office will be replaced now that the township has reached a deal to buy property for a new building. The current building leaks whenever it rains, and it has a crumbling garage floor.

Ken Norwood, one of the three members on the board, said he wasn’t sure whether the building, estimated to be 50 years old, would be razed. He said he expected the township to try to sell the property to help pay for the new facility.

“Whether you think it is an eyesore or not depends on whether you like ag buildings,” Norwood said. “They probably wouldn’t like it in Alvamar.”

Norwood, though, said he was glad the township was moving forward with the building project, which would require an official vote of the township board. Norwood said the township needed a building large enough to store all its equipment.

“Sunshine is probably the number one thing that can damage our equipment,” Norwood said. “It damages the paint, the hoses. You can tell the difference between farmers who have a shed for their tractors and the ones who don’t.”

Lecompton Township has reached a deal to purchase a 2-acre tract southwest of town on which it will build a new maintenance facility. Township trustee Chuck Wright calls the current building, above, an eyesore.

No designs for the building have been done, but Wright said the project could cost $150,000 to $200,000. Norwood said he didn’t know whether the township would spend that much. He also said the project could happen in stages to avoid an increase in the township’s mill levy.

The property must be rezoned from its current agricultural use to allow the township to construct the building. Norwood said the township had held preliminary discussion with county zoning officials.

“I would say we’re in pretty good shape with that,” he said.