JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Town Council voted 3-1 on Monday to explore other opportunities to keep the Mercer Cabin at its current location in Karns Meadow Park.
The cabin, originally built in 1938 by Phil Baux on Cache Street, has been at Karns Meadow since 2014. The cabin has moved a number of times, first from its original location on Cache Street by the Mercer family to the Sagebrush Motel and then to 265 E. Broadway where they ran the Alpine Pawn Shop. In 1948 it was featured in a Life Magazine article.
According to the staff report, the intent was that the cabin was only temporarily going to stay at Karns Meadow and would eventually move to May Park to be a cross-country ski warming hut. That plan never developed and the cabin has sat unused for nine years.
Due to this lapse, the town staff suggested that the council authorize the release of a request for proposals (RFP) for the removal/relocation of the cabin.
Tanya Anderson, Ecosystem Stewardship coordinator for the Town, presented the item to the council and said that the cabin is “unique and charming and has historical significance to the community,” but noted that town staff does not have the capacity to repair and maintain the cabin. The cabin also does not meet the code standards to be repurposed as a public building and is not ADA-compliant.
A number of people from the Teton County Historic Preservation Board made public comments, including the President of the Board, Michael Stern.
The Board members urged the council to not release an RFP but to direct the Parks and Rec staff to include the cabin in the Karns Meadow Park plan.
Stern said that the Board can offer services for maintenance and short-term repairs to the roof and would be willing to commission a study for the future use of the building, historic or otherwise.
Ryan Dorgan, who works for Shacks on Racks, a local building relocation company, explained to the council that moving the 20-foot tall cabin could harm the structural integrity and to get it under power lines, the floor or the roof would likely need to be removed.
Mayor Hailey Morton Levinson and Councilmembers Arne Jorgensen and Jim Rooks spoke in support of working with the Preservation Board to keep the cabin at Karns Meadow. Rooks moved the motion, directing staff to explore a partnership with the Historic Preservation Board “and/or other entities” to secure a permanent location for the cabin at Karns Meadow. Councilmember Jonathan Schechter ultimately voted against the motion because he wanted to “see more flexibility” in the location.
“Once there’s another option, it’s easier to use that option,” Rooks said. “I own the fact that I very much think that that particular location is the best spot for it. I understand that my location is not expansive but I think the [possible] partnerships are.”
The motion ultimately passed in a 3-1 vote with Schechter opposed and Councilmember Jessica Sell Chambers absent from the meeting.
