On the move Crews will relocate home Wednesday, expect some outages

If you see a house on wheels moving down Madison Avenue Wednesday afternoon, not to worry, it’s all part of the plan.
Iola city crews will work with Unruh Construction, Moundridge, to move a home from South Buckeye Street to South Oak Street. David Toland and Jim Talkington bought the home from the Friends of the Bowlus — who plan to turn the site  into a parking lot — and are selling the home to Ben Middleton.
“We didn’t want to see this beautiful house torn down,” Toland said.
Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock said city crews will begin preparing for the move today. He said one power line will be removed to allow space for the home. The home is around 30-feet wide and is “nearly as tall as it is wide.”
The power line removal will result in power outages in the neighborhoods surrounding Buckeye and Oak streets, but Schinstock said it should last only between 30 and 60 minutes. Homeowners who will be affected have received letters. Some trees along Oak Street will have to be trimmed as well, but Toland said he would like to reassure homeowners along the street that, too, will be minimal.
“Contrary to some rumors I have heard, we are not cutting down all of the trees on Oak Street,” Toland said emphatically.
Schinstock said crews will drill holes underneath the home and lift it by its crawl space. It will then be lifted onto a trailer for transport.
“It’s kind of a lost art,” Schinstock said. “There’s not many people that can do it (move a house) anymore.”
He estimated the city’s effort and services — which will cost Toland and Talkington approximately $3,000 — will take up around 12 hours for five or six workers. The school district has been alerted, and is planning accordingly for the crosswalk at Buckeye Street.
“It’s a cool thing,” Schinstock said. “It’s a unique house and I’m glad they’ve taken the initiative to save it.”
For more information about the move, contact Shonda Jeffris with code services (365-4903) or Schinstock (365-4900). He said the move should be completed by Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest.