Plans for the City of Fulton to purchase the historic rock barn at Fulton State Hospital were jeopardized when an agreement to split costs with the Fulton Heritage Trust fell out, Mayor LeRoy Benton told the council at Tuesday night's meeting.
Ultimately, however, the council agreed to move forward with the purchase of the barn and the 12 acres of surrounding land.
The council had originally agreed to put in half of the $18,000 price tag to buy the barn from the state at the Jan. 8, 2013 council meeting with the understanding that the Fulton Heritage Trust was putting in $9,000. Since then, the Heritage Trust put more stipulations on the agreement, to which the council didn't want to agree.
"They wanted the authority to approve modifications and improvements to meet certain design and historical criteria," said City Administrator Bill Johnson. "We wanted to preserve it, they wanted to restore it, and that's more costly."