The Kalona City Council Monday gave approval to partner with Communications Network Inc., a division of KCTC, to purchase the former Kalona Bakery building.

The building, located at 209 Fifth Ave., has been vacant since a fire destroyed the bakery on June 25, 2016.

“We’re not looking to rebuild anything,” City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said. “This is to facilitate economic improvement in the city. This will spur economic development in a building that’s been stagnant for three years.”

The council agreed to use municipal riverboat funds, casino money distributed quarterly to cities in Washington County, for the purchase.

Council members voted to limit the city’s expenditure on the building to a maximum of $20,000.

“I think it’s great,” Mayor Ken Herington said. “I wish it wouldn’t have taken so long.”

KCTC General Manager Casey Peck could not be reached for comment on Tuesday morning.

The empty building has been on the radar of city economic development officials for quite some time.

In October 2017, the Kalona Economic Development Group discussed the future of the building.

“When the bakery was open, the street would be packed when I got to work in the morning,” Steve Yotty, owner of Yotty’s Ace Discount Hardware, said at that meeting. “Now, I’m one of the only people parked on the street in the morning.”

The building is owned by Troyer Property Management. Owner Jonathan Troyer operated the Kalona Bakery until the 2016 fire.

Schlabaugh said that the partnership with Communications Network will make it possible to receive money, including blighted property grants, to help restore the building.

One of the hurdles for renovating the building has been the State Fire Marshal’s investigation into the cause of the fire.

According to an April 30 report from the State Fire Marshal’s office, the case is now closed, with the cause of the fire officially deemed “undetermined.”

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