West Lebanon — City officials and historians working to preserve the old Westboro yard ticket depot appear to have found a way to spare the historic railroad building from the wrecking ball.

After weeks of lobbying, the state Department of Transportation has agreed temporarily to house the ticket depot on its rail property in West Lebanon, providing the Lebanon Historical Society time to find the building a more permanent home.

But the DOT’s announcement comes with some caveats, spokesman Bill Boynton said on Wednesday.

Before the ticket depot, built in the 1890s, can be moved from a parcel on Railroad Avenue to the state’s neighboring property, the historical society must obtain insurance, he said. Any move also would require logistical planning to clear trees and avoid impacting a small concrete wall on the state property, Assistant Mayor Tim McNamara told City Council during its meeting on Wednesday night.

“I think a visit with a DOT representative to do a more thorough walk through would be useful,” he said. “If we could keep moving with the DOT and determine the feasibility of the site, then I think we’re in much better shape.

Although there still are hurdles to clear before the train depot is saved, city councilors said they’ve been working hard to find short-term solutions for the building by making calls to Gov. Chris Sununu, Executive Councilor Joe Kenney and transportation officials.

The need to find the depot a home is urgent, they were told last month by members of the historical society. Developer David Clem, who owns the building, offered to donate the depot to the group in early July, but the organization didn’t have the funds or land to make a move possible.

Aside from a failed proposal to convert the building into a diner, there have been few plans for the roughly 20-by-40-foot structure since it was moved to 26 Railroad Ave. in 2012. At least until Clem sold land underneath it in May to Curt Jacques, the owner of neighboring West Lebanon Feed and Supply.

Jacques intends to use the property for parking and the sale initially gave Clem 30 days to move the depot off-site. But after about eight weeks of planning, Clem abandoned plans to truck the depot up Main Street and onto a single-family plot that’s part of his proposed River Park development.

In a July email to the historical society, Clem blamed city government for hampering his efforts.

Transporting the building would have cost him $18,000 in moving fees with an additional $8,700 requested from utility and cable companies, he wrote.

Lebanon asked Clem to provide a $5,000 bond for any damage done to city infrastructure, as well as overtime pay for any work by public works, along with a police escort present as the building moved down Main Street. Clem wrote the bond request was a “last straw” and estimated he could demolish the building for a total of $3,000 instead.

If the building is saved, the Historical Society ultimately would like it remodeled into a museum that would display artifacts from Lebanon’s past and serve as the group’s headquarters. Mary Jane Thibodeau, the historical society’s treasurer, said on Wednesday that she reached out to three banks to obtain quotes for insurance. One said it could provide a $1 million policy at a cost of roughly $1,000 a month.

“We’ll take that to the membership to make sure they’ll be willing to go along with that,” she said.

As the society determines what to do about insurance, the council agreed to reach out to the DOT to scheduled a walk through of its property, with the hopes the building could be moved soon.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.