Nearly 100 residents attended the town forum on St. Thomas Church Wednesday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
HUNTINGTON – Nearly 100 residents turned out for a public forum to gauge support for the town’s purchase of the historic St. Thomas church on Wednesday. Select Board chair Edward Renauld said when the Springfield Diocese put the church up for auction in 2017, the town was interested at the time, but couldn’t act fast enough to participate.
Renauld said that two months ago, the individual who purchased the church at auction for $75,000 came to the town and asked if they were interested in buying it. The owner, Gerald Farrelly of Westfield was present at Wednesday’s forum. Renauld said the selectmen, Huntington architect Jeffrey Scott Penn, and Vicki Mayhew, who chaired the committee that created a Local Historic Designation for the church in 2012, had started to talk about possible uses for the 1881 building.
Penn called it “relatively obvious,” the cultural importance of the church to the town. Referring to Stanton Hall, the former Grange Hall where Wednesday’s meeting was held, he said, “This building says we’re in New England. That church confirms it.”
Penn said the town has a pressing need for office and meeting space, as well as emergency headquarters. He said the church has an unconstructed basement which could be finished, and is well above the flood plain of the Westfield River, unlike Town Hall, where current records are stored. He said it’s important the church be returned to public service.
Selectman Darlene McVeigh addresses the forum at Stanton Hall. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Selectman Darlene McVeigh said the town has no dedicated space for seniors, who make up nearly 30% and growing out of a population of approx. 2,000. She said the church is handicap accessible, although the elevator might need some work, and there is grant funding available for senior centers and other possible uses. McVeigh said that the board felt it was important to hold the public meeting and ask for input from residents before proceeding. She also said grants would not cover the initial purchase, and the owner is asking for $155,000, although the town has not entered into any negotiations.
The meeting was then opened to residents for input. Jeffrey Wyand of Pleasant St. said the town should consider Community Preservation Act funds, which match tax dollars for historic purchases. Currently, the town does not have a CPA program.
Holly Squires of Basket St. asked where the parking would be for the church, which only has four regular parking places plus one handicap parking spot. Renauld said a municipal parking lot behind the library across the street could be used.
Maryann Brown of E. Main St. asked whether the town would use both the church space and basement. Renauld said they had discussed senior and youth programs, overflow office space and storage in the basement. “The first thing is for the town to decide to purchase it,” he said.
Jeanine Lapointe of Goss Hill Rd. asked if the town had an official structural report on the building. Renauld said that would be done if they go forward with a purchase. “Why would we ok it without having a structural report,” Lapointe asked.
Wayne McKinney of Searle Road said the cost to repair the steeple at Stanton Hall was $140,000, which was confirmed at the meeting by treasurer Aimee Burnham. McKinney asked if anyone had looked at the steeple at St. Thomas, which he guessed would cost closer to $250,000 to repair.
Thomas Washington of Allen Coit Road said he had concerns about lead paint and asbestos abatement, but was keeping an open mind. “Even if we got grant money, is this going to become a white elephant? This is an old, old, old building,” Washington said.
Renauld said that grants can’t be depended on in the discussion, and also are restricted for specific purposes, such as handicap accessibility.
Penn said his assumption is that no abatement has been done, and the paint would have be stripped to a certain height. “The answer is we don’t know,” he said.
Nanci Kaminski of Maple St. asked if the church was on the National Historic Registry. Penn said it is in the National Historic District, which offers it no protections, but the Local Historic District does protect the outside appearance, steeple, window shape, color of roof, from alterations. He also said the town did not include type of material in the protections they listed.
Teresa Helems of Pine St. suggested the town consider using the church as a maker space, where people could engage in carpentry, sewing, pottery, and take and teach classes. She said if set up as a non-profit, it could generate income for maintenance of the building. “It would be good for the kids and good for the elderly,” Helems said, adding that one exists in Springfield.
Hilltown economic development director Jeanne LeClair said that she had just written a grant for a maker space for the elementary school in Russell, although that town had decided to use the school for municipal offices instead. “There is a ton of money out there for innovative ideas like that,” LeClair said.
Linda Hamlin of Laurel Road, who chairs the town’s Planning Board, said that she had recently attended a training in Worcester which discussed historic preservation. She said the Local Historic Designation would qualify the church for funding.
When asked what the rush was on a decision, Renauld said in order to purchase the building, it would have to appear as a warrant at the Annual Town Meeting in June. “It’s up to the town whether we want to purchase it or not. There’s a lot of work to get there, and we’re trying to gauge interest. It is expensive,” Renauld said.
“This gentleman purchased it for $75,000,” said Lois Smith of Goss Hill Road, adding the town should wait until it’s auctioned off again. The building has been vacant since Feb.2010, after the membership of St. Thomas, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Russell and St. John Mission in Chester voted to merge parishes and worship in the Russell church, which was then renamed the Holy Family Parish.
Gerald Dugas of Goss Hill Road asked what would be entailed with putting in office space. McVeigh said there are a lot of portable options other than putting up walls. Dugas also said there is only one bathroom in the church.
Gary Cole of Nagler Cross Rd. commented that the town had just begun looking at this, and seemed confused by the use. He asked if they had any idea on how much the total cost would be to the town.
Treasurer Aimee Burnham suggested not rushing to the town meeting. “It seems like everybody has a lot of good questions. Maybe we shouldn’t rush to Town Meeting but continue to study it, extending this a little bit,” Burnham said.
Renauld said as far as the time frame, Farrelly is selling it now, and it may not be available later.
Penn acknowledged they didn’t have a list and a plan. He said the town needs a new safety complex; another idea would be to move the library to the church, and use that space for a public safety complex.
COA director Kathleen Peterson said she is of two minds. “One mind, an albatross – I’m fearful of that. The other mind, no designated space for seniors,” she said, adding that it could be an intergenerational space, with games such as ping pong in the basement for youth and seniors. “We have a great town here. This space would offer us a great intergenerational opportunity,” she said.
St. Thomas owner Gerald Farrelly of Westfield speaks with Huntington resident Mike Ross following the meeting. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Huntington Fire Chief Josh Ellinger asked whether, since the building had changed hands, if the usage restriction by the Diocese was still in play. Farrelly said only uses inconsistent with Catholic teaching would be restricted.
Jim Arnold of Russell Road said it was a great building to keep in town. “Whatever makes the most economic sense, I would vote for it,” he said.
Ernie Smith of Goss Hill Road said right now, the building earns the town $4,400 in taxes. He said the town’s number one need is a public safety complex. “We’re starting to talk about buying a white elephant, which we can’t handle,” Smith said, citing post-purchase costs of plumbing, rest rooms, roof and steeple. “The safety complex is number one. If I get a fire, I don’t call the senior center, I call the fire department,” he added.
When asked how the town would fund the purchase, Renauld said there are options to financing it. He said they have $1 million in stabilization, and had earmarked $300,000 for a bridge project which they never had to touch. They also have $389,000 in Free Cash.
McVeigh said the Stanton Fund also has $121,000. “There are places we can go to defray some of the overall cost of the purchase of the building,” she said.
“This is a very important cornerstone building in our town. We pay $100,000 for every truck for the highway dept., and $150,000 for every fire truck. This is our one opportunity to purchase a building. We kind of have to give a nod to the Select Board to move ahead to investigate. If we leave them wondering at the end of the meeting, we’re likely not to get this opportunity again,” said Steve Hamlin of Laurel Rd.
After further discussion, a straw poll was taken to give an indication of where residents stood on the purchase. The vote was 57 to continue to investigate, and 20 to not look into it, out of 94 present.
After the meeting, Renauld said they would go forward with the plan to the Annual Town Meeting and see what happens. “It’s definitely a space the town could use if we had it,” he said.
“I’m really pleased. They asked all the right questions to reinvigorate the process,” added Penn.
