A landmark for more than a century, Cobleskill’s old St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church is in trouble.
The Elm Street church is in serious disrepair, according to Village Codes Officer Mike Piccolo, and the congregation will have to restore it or demolish it.
That’s a decision the parish of several hundred will likely make in January, said Leo McAllister, who’s on St. Vincent’s finance and buildings and grounds committee.
Mr. Piccolo placed a sign banning occupancy on the 1894 church earlier this month. He also ordered the parish to place a warning fence around the church, which they did.
“Slates are coming off the roof, bricks will pulverize in your hand, there’s mold and foundation problems,” Mr. Piccolo said.
“I declared it unsafe.”
Mr. McAllister agreed, adding that birds are flying into and out of the steeple.
Mr. Piccolo’s study recommended the church be demolished, but Mr. McAllister said the congregation is getting an engineer’s study that will offer options on restoration or demolition.
One complication is that St. Vincent’s is in the Historic District, and Cobleskill’s Historic District Review Commission would have to approve demolition.
St. Vincent’s could plead hardship before the commission because of the large expense of the alternative––restoration––Mr. Piccolo said.
If the church is to be restored, the commission would have to approve any exterior changes that could be seen from the street.
Church members will meet in January to decide what to do, and the public will be invited, Mr. McAllister said.
“People are interested. Some see it as a fixture in the community,” he said.
“It’s important that they know what’s going on.”
But although the public’s invited to the meeting, only church members will make the final decision, Mr. McAllister said.
There’s no timetable or deadline to meet, although Mr. McAllister said waiting shouldn’t be an option.
“We want to move on this relatively soon,” he said. “We don’t want something to happen.”
The newer St. Vincent’s sits behind the old one and is on Washington Avenue. Since the new one was dedicated in 1990, the old one hasn’t been used much except for religious education in the basement for a few years.