By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.com
The cost of moving the Eugene McCombs log house may be far more than county parks officials anticipated.
The house is too tall to get under utility lines.
The price tag to raise the lines could easily top $100,000.
Rowan County Parks and Recreation Commission members will meet at the homeplace of the late Rep. McCombs in Faith at 4 p.m. today to consider possible options for the move.
Jean McCombs, widow of the former legislator and county commissioner, offered to donate the house to the county for display at Dan Nicholas Park.
Eugene McCombs built the house from logs salvaged from a barn that dated to the Civil War era.
The Rowan County Board of Commissioners agreed to accept the donation if the parks board can raise private funds for the move.
Parks Director Don Bringle said Wednesday that the potential cost is more than expected. In fact, parks officials don’t know what the final cost will be.
Kepley Moving agreed to move the house for $15,000.
But the major costs will be in getting utility lines moved along the 11-mile route to the park.
Time Warner has agreed to raise its lines for $11,000.
Bringle said he has been unable to get an estimate from Duke Energy or the two other utilities involved, AT&T and Windstream.
He speculated the costs could easily run up to $100,000.
Members of the parks commission will consider various options that could lower the cost.
Buddy Kepley, of Kepley Moving, will explain the options, which will apparently include removing the roof or disassembling some or all of the structure.As the building now stands, it’s 21 feet high. Adding in the height of the trailer for moving, utility lines would have to be raised 25 feet or more above the roadway.
Bringle said Duke Energy wants the total height under 18 feet.
The total cost of the move may well dictate whether the project goes forward.
“We want to know what we’ve got to raise. … We have an interest in moving it, provided we can raise the money,” Bringle said.
If the move can be pulled off, the house will be moved lakeside near the Granite Quarry Depot.