Hermann the German towers over the hillside. State Historical Preservation Office Program Specialist Kelly Gragg-Johnson said the request to reconstruct when the structure is still standing is very rare.

NEW ULM – The Hermann the German reconstruction project cleared its first major hurdle, as a feasibility study found deconstruction and reconstruction to be a viable way forward.

The study was presented to City Council at Tuesday’s meeting. Alongside it was a letter from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which also approved reconstruction as a preferred approach for Hermann the German’s future. Instead of starting from scratch, crews will work from top to bottom and salvage as much useable material as possible.

“We’ll take Hermann off the top, put him off to the side, fence him in, light him up, have some interpretive panels there, and then start at the top and deconstruct,” Building Official Ellwood Zabel said. “As we go down, if we find usable items, keep those. If not, keep going down and find out. Also try to figure out where our water intrusion is coming from, and mitigate that.”

SHPO’s Environmental Review Program Specialist Kelly Gragg-Johnson said this is the first time SHPO staff has reviewed a proposal recommending reconstruction while the monument is still standing.

“Because of the limited historic materials that can be retained and reused it is understood that a reconstruction approach, which reuses all salvageable material, has been determined as the preferred approach,” she said.

Councilor Les Schultz asked Zabel if they planned on having a dedicated spot for Herman the German when the reconstruction is happening. Zabel said that’s their plan, but they have a long process to get to that point.

“Once we get the deconstruction documents, then it’s going to be a matter of going out for bids to see who’s interested in doing the deconstruction,” he said. “As we do that [we’ll] have the architect alongside drawing up documents for the reconstruction.”

Given how unique the project is, Schultz asked if there could be any trouble finding groups to do this job. Zabel said there would be a special group coming in, but because of how high-profile the project is there will be interest from groups in the project.

With the project now understood to be feasible, the nitty gritty details can start to be worked out.

“We’re hoping to get an estimate on how much the deconstruction plans are going to cost by the end of the year,” Zabel said. “We’ve got some fund balance with the Hermann account to look at instead of going with the grant cycle.”

The city has set aside $300,000 for a Hermann Restoration fund, with another $100,000 in the preliminary city budget. In addition to deconstruction plans, Zabel said he hopes he can use some of those funds for matching fund grants. Tackling plans and grants will help the project get a head start.

Schugel said there is still too much to do for any accurate estimation of how long the project will take. But he said they have made a solid first step.

“We know we have a long road ahead of us,” Schugel said. “With the city putting some funds aside now we can keep the ball rolling down the hill.”

Councilor Dave Christian motioned to receive and file the feasibility study and next steps, which Schultz seconded. The study was approved unanimously.