But, a man who runs a non-profit arts group said he wants to use the space to sell ice cream, with proceeds going to the program.

At Wednesday’s meeting, after a 10-minute executive session, council voted unanimously to seek a full appraisal of the building and strip of property that extends to the alley at 102 Main St.

There has already been a drive-by appraisal, which put the building at $30,000, said Mayor Ed Kolanko.

With the full appraisal, entry will be gained to the building, he said.

“Once we get that appraisal done, if there still is no agreement to a price, then the next action will be going forward with potential court action to acquire the property,” Kolanko said.

Kolanko said that the village has tried to work with the property owner.

“We actually have had communication between our village solicitor and village administrator and the property owner, and there were no terms that were amicable,” he said.

At one point, the property owner offered to sell it to the village for $100,000, Kolanko said. He called that unreasonable, and said they want to be fair.

“We are intending on providing the full appraised value to the property owner,” he said. “We’re not looking to diminish the value or offer him less.”

He said that eminent domain is a serious step.

“We don’t take this decision lightly,” Kolanko said. “We feel there is a very good reason to move in this fashion.”

The property has a lot of promise, he said.

“It makes sense to acquire it, to improve it for the betterment of the entire village,” Kolanko said. “Looking at the longer term perspective, we all feel that that corner needs to be improved.”

The building has most recently housed a thrift shop. A dog groomer was there for a few years.

It was last purchased by James Irving, et. al., in 2001 for $15,950, according to the Wood County Auditor website.

“It is vacant, it has been vacant for a while,” Kolanko said.

Last year, council purchased two other downtown properties.

The Kings Men building on the corner of Main and Union streets was bought for $36,000. It is hoped that will be developed after the building is razed.

The building at 102 Main is adjacent to the Owl’s Nest building, which was torn down. That was bought by council for $35,000. That area will have 20 parking spots.

If the 102 Main purchase goes through, there will be a total of 50 new parking spots downtown.

It is expected that the extra parking will be used by Skillet customers and people visiting the VFW, Veterans Park and the library, which was expanded and renovated in 2017.

The Kings Men purchase is still ongoing.

After this story ran online, David Overholt, who runs the Northwestern Ohio Rural Arts program, said he is trying to rent the building and turn it into an ice cream store.

“They’re not telling you the truth. They haven’t negotiated with him,” Overholt said of the village and Irving, who did not want to comment for this story.

Overholt said that money from the ice cream sales would help fund the non-profit arts program.

Currently, the program is using space in the VFW building across the street from 102 Main. Overholt said he teaches paint classes there every Thursday.

The plan is to make and sell homemade premium ice cream out of the building at 102 Main. Overholt said that he and Irving have been painting the building and working on the plumbing. Overholt also said that he has obtained his safe serve certification, which helps pass the health department inspection for opening the ice cream store.

Overholt also said that the village must have the 102 Main St. property to finish the new parking lot. Just having the old Owl’s Nest property does not give them access from the street, he said.

“They made a mistake, they didn’t plan properly and now they’re trying to make up for it by doing this,” he said.

Kolanko, in a follow-up interview, said that parking would be more effective with the 102 Main property.

He said that Overholt recently came to a council meeting and requested $30,000 for his non-profit, which was denied.

“We don’t feel it’s a good use of taxpayer money,” Kolanko said.

Kolanko also said that there are other buildings in town that are better suited to his idea.

The mayor added that they still hope to reach an agreement with Irving and not pursue eminent domain.

“We in fact hope we don’t have to. We hope there’s some collaboration between us, council and current property owner,” Kolanko said.