Cobleskill’s old St. Vincent de Paul’s Church is coming down.
The parish’s Buildings and Grounds Committee made the decision Thursday, two days after the village board cleared the way for demolition.
The previous Tuesday, Mayor Becky Stanton-Terk and village board members overruled the Historic District Review Commission’s decision that the parish must apply for hardship to demolish the Elm Street church or repair it to make the building safe.
Unhappy with how it played out, HDRC members are upset with the village board’s action.
With the village ruling that a hardship designation was unnecessary, “the Buildings and Grounds Committee went along with demolishing,” according to Leo McAllister of the committee.
The Albany Diocese also approved demolition.
There’s a 90-day period for demolition, and workers have already begun taking out stained-glass windows.
Although there are three months to take down the church, it’s unclear whether actual demolition will begin while school’s in session.
There’s pedestrian and vehicle traffic during school, Mr. McAllister noted.
“I think they should wait till school’s out, but that’s just my opinion,” he added.
Demolition estimates range from $90,000 to $100,000, Mr. McAllister said.
Once the church is demolished, plans call for a landscaped area for gatherings and prayer.
The village board’s action to overrule the HDRC surprised many, but Mayor Stanton-Terk said the board based the decision on a report from Codes Officer Mike Piccolo, who deemed the 1894 church unsafe.
Nonetheless, HDRC members aren’t pleased with Mayor Stanton-Terk and trustees.
“Why did she feel the need to do this?” asked HDRC Chair Bob Holt. “We’re just baffled by it.”
Although he admitted the village board had “every right to act, they didn’t follow procedure,” Mr. Holt said.
HDRC members aren’t planning to resign––at least not at the moment.
“We’ll see what answers we get,” Mr. Holt said.
And with village officials overruling a board of volunteers, Mr. Holt wondered, “Why would anyone volunteer for the village?”
In a letter to the editor in this week’s issue, HDRC members wrote that the overruling “demonstrates to us a lack of responsible leadership from village officials.”
If the Mayor questions the “existence of an HDRC,” then she should look at revising zoning, “not side-stepping the issue.”
Told that HDRC members are upset, Mayor Stanton-Terk had no comment.
Some saw the HDRC’s decision as an opportunity for the parish to make repairs––which might have been cheaper than demolition––and therefore save an historic 1894 building.
“We lost a golden opportunity to preserve it,” said Anna Marie Collins, a member of both the parish and HDRC.