CRESTVIEW — Dedicating the Liveoak Lookout Tower narrowly passed the City Council on Monday, but not before generating spirited discussion.
Councilman Mickey Rytman placed the McMahon Environmental Center tower on the National Historic Lookout Register last year when the city seemed poised to have it demolished.
Registry officials recently assigned the Crestview landmark its coveted 1,000 registration number.
“It’s a number they have had on reserve for many years,” Public Works Director Wayne Steele said. National registry chairman Keith Argow “feels it is very significant and historic.”
ANY OBLIGATIONS?
Significant or not, council members Robyn Helt and Thomas Gordon questioned whether placement on the registry obligates the city to maintain a now-registered historic structure.
“What am I tying the hands of the city of Crestview for in the future?” Helt said.
The registry is no government program — such as the National Register of Historic Places — that comes with an obligation to maintain the landmark, City Clerk Betsy Roy said.
“This is not a federal agency,” Roy said. “This is a private, membership organization.”
Registry membership allows the city to apply for grant money to repair and maintain the lookout, Rytman said. The Crestview Kiwanis Club currently is considering refurbishment ideas for the environmental center.
Jayne Swift, a project manager for corporate partner CH2M Hill, said if grant money is received, the restored tower could be a focal point of a new educational building for the park.
PROTECTING HISTORY
“I don’t think it ties our hands in any way,” Rytman said. “I think it’s part of saving history.”
A 1970s council's failure to act resulted in the demolition of Crestview’s historic railroad depot, he said.
Councilman Joe Blocker moved to expedite placing the tower on the registry, saying, “The city needs it. Let’s do it.”
Saying she was “all for protecting history,” Helt said any council action would become part of the city’s record, but no one had explained the city's potential obligation that would go along with approving dedication.
The tower is already on the National Historic Landmarks Registry, and the vote was whether to hold the dedication ceremony on Jan. 22, Steele said.
Helt and Gordon voted “nay” on the measure, which passed 3-2.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT:Dedication of the Liveoak Lookout Tower
WHEN:Noon, Jan. 22
WHERE:McMahon Environmental Center, North Avenue at Mapoles Street, Crestview
NOTES:The National Historic Lookout Register will dedicate the John McMahon Environmental Center's fire tower as the No. 1,000 location on the registry.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'SAVING HISTORY': Council OKs fire tower dedication ceremony