If it chooses to do so, the Albany Diocese can tear down the old St. Vincent de Paul’s Church on Elm Street in Cobleskill.
Mayor Becky Stanton-Terk and trustees Tuesday night ordered the diocese to “repair or remove” the old church, effectively overruling another village panel.
That panel––the Historic District Review Commission––ruled April 3 that the parish and diocese must repair the church or apply for hardship to demolish it.
Trustees’ action Tuesday night removes the hardship provision, which is difficult to obtain, and allows the diocese to move forward as it wants.
“We’re exercising our authority over the HDRC,” said Mayor Stanton-Terk. “We’re tearing off the bandaid.”
“They can tear it down if they want to,” added Trustee Larry Van Heertum.
Afterwards, Mayor Stanton-Terk said the HDRC “did their job” but that “the Catholic church went out of their way to provide an explanation.”
And, she added, “property owners are way too restricted by the HDRC overlay.”
The village board based its decision on Codes Officer Mike Piccolo’s action to declare the 1894 church unsafe in November. Slates fell off the roof, bricks were crumbling and there was mold inside.
The board’s resolution quotes village codes: “The hardship criteria for demolition shall not apply to any case where the Code Enforcement Officer. . .orders or directs the. . .the demolition of any improvement. . .for the purpose of remedying conditions determined to be unsafe or dangerous or a public safety hazard.”
The parish had applied to the HDRC for demolition because they didn’t have enough money for major repairs to the old church.
The HDRC denied the demolition request.
The old church is in Cobleskill’s historic district, and the HDRC’s mission is to “make sure we do not lose any of our historic buildings,” HDRC Chair Bob Holt said after the commission’s April 3 meeting.
HDRC members at the time recommended the parish put on a less expensive roof, block holes to keep pigeons out and repair some of the bricks.
Several members indicated those repairs would probably be cheaper than demolition.
Contacted early Wednesday morning, Mr. Holt had no immediate response to the village board’s action.