KINGSTON — It is probably the Stillwaters Environmental Education Center’s biggest recycling project to date.
Directors Noami Maasberg and Joleen Palmer watched with anticipation Feb. 11 as the latest donation to their non-profit organization was transported to a parking lot behind Kingston Lumber.
“This is impressive, the operation,” Palmer observed as the former barbershop on the corner of Lindvog Road and Highway 104 was moved up Lindvog Road to the lot. Crews from Puget Sound Energy and Comcast manned utility trucks that lifted telephone and cable TV wires over the street so the house didn’t knock them down.
“Yeah, it’s like a ballet,” Maasberg said with a laugh.
The two-story building, also known to the community as the “Tree House,” made its way up Lindvog in about 45 minutes as Jeff Monroe of Monroe House Moving directed the building to its temporary holding area. It was the third time Monroe moved this particular structure — but not the last. Monroe will move it to Stillwaters in April.
“It will be a little more of a challenge to go down (Lindvog to West Kingston Road) because we have to take out four lampposts and drive up on the sidewalk,” he said.
Maasberg said she is investigating how to deal with the wires on Lindvog, West Kingston and Barber Cut Off roads when the building is moved again.
They will either have to be lifted, like they were Wednesday, or be disconnected and laid on the ground, she said.
“Every wire you can get under, it saves hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Maasberg added.
The nearly 2,000-square-foot building was donated to Stillwaters by American Marine Bank, which will be constructing a new branch on the same corner this spring. Bank officials wanted to donate the 21-year-old building to a local organization and Stillwaters was the lucky recipient.
Prior to the donation, the Stillwaters Board and Nature Center Task force had been planning to make some major changes to the environmental campus on Barber Cut Off Road. The Tree House replaced their notions to construct a new building.
The first floor will become a conference/classroom area and the second floor will be a caretaker’s apartment.
To prep the building for the move, Maasberg, Palmer and Stillwaters’ volunteers removed the front porch, a decorative piece that was on the roof and the two-foot skirt that covered the foundation last weekend.
While the Tree House is located on Lindvog, Maasberg and Palmer will be prepping for their new building on Barber Cut Off Road.
Besides keeping up with their ongoing education programs and preparing for EcoFest, members have to clear an area for the building and review wetland buffers.
The center is still seeking donations and carpentry, landscaping and fund-raising skills. Maasberg and Palmer can be contacted at (360) 297-2876 or check for details at www.stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org.
