Pipestone’s City Council approved a $288,000 contract to repair the east wall of the historic Carnegie Library building, a preservation project that brings masonry restoration work back to the forefront of local decision-making.
The council accepted a lone bid from Innovative Masonry Restoration LLC of Prior Lake. Members also voted to seek bids to repair the roof, which the city estimates at about $112,500.
The wall bid had been tabled earlier while the city looked for help closing a funding gap. The Minnesota Historical Society awarded Pipestone a $122,162 grant in 2024 for the east wall repairs. The grant requires a $126,000 match, leaving a $39,838 shortfall. City officials also said quartzite salvaged from Central School would reduce the project cost by as much as $8,000.
Leaders from the Pipestone Area Community Foundation urged the council to move ahead, and the foundation plans to consider fundraising for the roof and other improvements at a future meeting. City officials described the building as important to Pipestone’s historic downtown and said years of neglect left it in poor condition.
One point raised during the discussion matters to every mason contractor working on historic exteriors: water problems do not stay contained. A council member said roof issues were driving the wall damage. That kind of sequencing question is common in restoration, especially when grants come with deadlines and the work needs to line up with the building’s moisture management reality.
The council voted to fund the wall work using the grant, matching dollars already set aside, and additional money from the city’s liquor store fund, which officials said had a balance of more than $1.5 million.
Read the full, original article from Pipestone County Star here.