| Any
and all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 01/08/04
Board of Selectmen's Meeting and are considered unapproved until then. Corrections
will be noted in the minutes of that meeting.
MINUTES -
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
DECEMBER 15th, 2003
WILLIAMSVILLE HALL
PRESENT:
Selectmen: Piet van Loon, Gorty Baldwin, Priscilla Cotton, and Chris Williams
Absent: Gary Katz
Also Present: Attorney Richard D. Perra, Marc P. Gray, Edwin F. Gray,
James O. Gray and Doris A. Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.
1. CALL TO
ORDER
The Special Meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. Chairman Piet van
Loon.
2. DISCUSSION OF THE "BROWN CHURCH" AND POSSIBLE TOWN
INTEREST
Chairman van Loon spoke of the legal notice that was in the Reformer regarding
the Troy Conference of the United Methodist Church in Williamsville and
the Heirs of George B. Williams. The Troy Conference would like to be
able to sell the church as it is no longer being used for religious purposes.
Attorney Richard Perra was invited by the Board to answer any questions
that the public may have in the desired action of the Troy Conference
and the interest of the town.
The deed from George B. Williams to the Methodist Episcopal Church (19/191)
dated the 31st January 1883, indicates that the land shall be used for
no other purpose than for a church building without the consent of G.B.Williams
or his heirs and assigns. The lot is small with only seven feet from the
building on the easterly side, two feet on the southerly side, three feet
on the westerly side with a frontage of fifty-five feet.
The Quit-Claim deed from Cheney H. Williams to the Town of Newfane (44/472)
dated the 30th of December 1975, under the description for Parcel III,
which surrounds the church property, Aincluding also any interest we may
have in said church lot.@ Any interest that the town may have in this
matter is in the land on which the church building sits, not the building
itself.
The question was raised regarding the statute (24 VSA 33'1061) dealing
with the sale of town property. Attorney Richard Perra does not feel that
this situation applies. It would be in the towns best interest to see
the property put back on the tax roles.
There is a potential buyer for the church building and land. It is undetermined
at this time what the future owner may be using the building for. There
was much discussion about the desire of the town and the citizens present
to see that the building is preserved and maintained for its historic
significance. It has been a significant part of the village of Williamsville
since its construction in 1883.
It is anticipated that if there are no objections by the heirs and assigns
of the Williams family to the sale of the church by the Troy Conference,
the court will issue a default judgement and allow the sale to go through.
It is not known if there has been any other interest in the purchase of
the church.
There may be limited use for the building as there is no septic system,
and it is unknown if there is a water supply available to the building.
There is only 55 feet of road frontage for the building.
After continued discussion, it was decided that Chairman H.W. van Loon
would put together a Resolution pertaining to the church building with
the main emphasis being on the historic preservation and maintenance of
the exterior of the building with no structural changes to the exterior.
The final Resolution will be available for signing at the December 18th
meeting of the Selectboard.
Attorney Richard Perra and the citizens present were thanked for their
participation in the discussion. Selectboard member C. Williams did not
participate as a board member due to his being an heir of the Williams
family.
3. TO TRANSACT ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY LEGALLY COME BEFORE
THE NEWFANE SELECTBOARD
None
4. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by P. Cotton to adjourn the
Special Meeting at 8:45 p.m. Unanimous.
Doris A. Knechtel
Administrative Assistant
Newfane Board of Selectmen
Posted: Newfane Town
Office, Newfane Store, Williamsville General Store, Williamsville Hall
and South Newfane General Store & Deli.
www.newfanevt.com |
