Soon, the Cass County Board of Commissioners will be voting on the fate of the historic courthouse in downtown Cassopolis, either to keep the courthouse in county control or sell it to a private developer.  The fate of the iconic building will come down to the commissioners — taking away an opportunity of the voters to speak their minds, which is how we got here in the first place.

Selling the historic courthouse would set the precedent of selling assets that become too burdensome for some members of the board. If the Newton House becomes too burdensome will the commissioners vote to sell that too?  How about the Parks Department? Will the commissioners sell Lawless Park or Russ Forest because the county can no longer afford to own/maintain it?

Seeking to sell a building with a mold problem, to an unknown developer, with unknown use is a rabbit hole this county should avoid. Some will say there are tools that can be used to guarantee a long term outcome.

There are no guarantees with a sale to a private developer. Who is to say a private entity won’t go bankrupt due to the economy or poor management, rendering these so-called tools useless.

The driving force of this sale is the federal historic tax incentives that a private developer will use to offset profits or sell to other entities. One big problem with this is those tax incentives may disappear with the current administration, as the state tax incentive program was halted under Gov. Snyder.

Contact your commissioners and tell them to vote “no” on selling the historic courthouse.

Mike Moroz

Dowagiac