Old Tooties building will be turned into auction hall

 HARTINGTON — A local business will soon breathe new life into an old building here. 

The old Tooties Restaurant building on the north edge of Hartington is being purchased by Creamer Auction Company. The building, which has been closed for several years now, will soon be transformed into an auction hall. 

The Hartington City Council Monday accepted the recommendation of the Revolving Loan Committee and approved a $50,000 business loan to Creamer to help update and revitalize the building. 

City Attorney Steve Pier is a member of that committee. He said the group felt this would be a great investment in the community. 

“The committee felt this was a good use of a building that has been sitting empty for several years,” he said. “It should also bring some people to town, which should also help other businesses.” 

The 15-year, zero interest loan will be the ninth revolving loan the Committee has on the books. 

Mayor Mark Becker credits former City Council member Gary Kruse for making the loan program an important part of the city’s economic development toolbox. 

“Gary thought it would be a good thing to put it out there to help the businesses make improvements,” he said “We’ve been accumulating these funds for awhile. This has been a good program. We’ve been able to do some good things with these funds.” 

The Revolving Loan program was created with state funds Hartington Economic Development received when they built and then sold a spec building in the Hartington Industrial Park. 

In other action, the Council approved a building permit for Dan Kollars for a garden shed on the northeast corner of his lot. 

The Council also approved placing Wendy Wortmann and Nancee Sudbeck on the Park Board. 

Also Monday, the Council approved the renewal of a cash rent lease with Darin Pick for farm land the city owns east of town by the Transfer Station and Recycling Center. 

The Council also heard from Kerry Dendinger and Jeff Jones about preliminary plans for an indoor-outdoor shooting range. The group would like to use a portion of the city’s land near the Transfer station for the project. 

Councilman Chris Bartling agreed to be the liaison between the group and the city as plans and ideas are discussed.