Peppered with questions about the project, Richmondville officials want the state to examine how grant money was spent on the Maranatha Family Center in Warnerville.
Town board members last week voted unanimously to ask the Office of the State Comptroller to do an audit of the project.
But although a state audit appears ominous, Maranatha owner Stella McKenna maintained Monday that grant money was spent properly.
Board members' request came after Richmondville resident Bob Nied raised questions about an old barn--a key piece of the $2.3 million grant--that's at the center of the controversy.
According to the terms of the grant, the "Dutch-type" barn was supposed to be restored. It was torn down last month.
Ms. McKenna reported last fall that the barn was damaged during the construction of the gym, and she received permission to demolish it.
But under the Freedom of Information Law, Mr. Nied secured town documents and emails relating to the barn and the project, "and there's no documentation to suggest the barn was damaged," he said Saturday.
Mr. Nied showed three grant vouchers for reconstruction costs and wondered why no reconstruction had been done.
"A million in reconstruction?" Mr. Nied asked.
He also pointed to emails between town officials and a town consultant about bills and how the grant--taxpayers' money-- was spent.
"There are a whole series of things that are problematic," Mr. Nied said. "It really looks bad, and I think an audit will tell us a lot."
Ms. McKenna believes otherwise. She released a statement Monday saying she's "confident that funds were spent appropriately in conjunction with the grant."
Spending was reviewed "at each step by the state, Town of Richmondville and an independent consultant," Ms. McKenna said.
As for the barn, she said the original intent was to restore it. But that was more than four years ago, when she began applying for the Restore NY grant.
Over the years, the barn became more unstable, and Ms. McKenna suggested other uses, including an open-air pavilion. Those possibilities were considered unfeasible, and Empire State Development, which provided the grant, approved demolition.
"We tried everything we could think of," Ms. McKenna said.
After the barn came down, Ms. McKenna said she received permission to donate the beams to help restore the Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction.
Richmondville has a stake in the issue because although the grant was for Maranatha, it was issued to the town.
Richmondville Supervisor Dick Lape said board members asked for the audit because Mr. Nied brought the concern to them.
"We just feel that as far as the town is concerned, we did the necessary step," Mr. Lape said.
He added that the Comptroller was planning to audit the project, but "we'd like it done sooner rather than later."