Fulton County Ohio Media

At the April 28^th meeting of the Swanton Village Council, Village Administrator Shannon Shulters announced that the Village had purchased the properties located at 116 and 118 North Main Street.  The building that sat on the combined parcels was the former home of the Swanton Elks Lodge No. 2462.

Due to dwindling membership, the Lodge folded and eventually sold the building to Swanton resident Jeffrey Schultz for $11,000 in January of 2018.  At the time, Mr. Schultz was running a small restaurant, also on Main Street on the south side of the railroad tracks, called the Switchback Crossing.  He began a restoration project on the Elks building, but after several months he discontinued the work.  Soon after, Mr. Schultz abandoned the building and moved out of the area.  Over the years, there were attempts to sell the building but all those failed.

The structure continued to deteriorate, the roof over the second floor collapsed and the building was declared beyond repair.  It reached a point where, if a fire broke out inside, fire fighters would not be allowed to enter to battle the flames for obvious safety concerns.  The Village attempted to contact Mr. Schultz and offer to buy the building, however, he had relocated several times and could not be found.  Finally, the Village obtained a viable address for him and sent letters containing the offer, to which he did not respond.  Eventually, a private detective was hired to find Mr. Schultz and personally hand him the letter.  The Village’s offer was for $30,000 which Mr. Schultz accepted.

With the Village now in possession of the building, the next step is to have it taken down.  Swanton Mayor Neil Toeppe stated the estimate for razing the building is approximately $120,000, which the Village hopes to cover with grants.  Complicating the process is the structure being attached to another building on the north side with steel girders.  There is a small vacant lot on the south side.  No timetable has been set for the building’s demolition.