| In my Opinion – Beverly Cadigan |
To the Select Board, the Town Manager, the Public Works Director, and the Town of New Gloucester:
I understand that two options were mentioned at the Select Board meeting on March 4, 2024, for repair of the Library’s leaky roof. And, that these options will be “on the agenda” for the March 18, 2024, Select Board meeting.
One option was to fix the roof and keep the Bell Tower and the other to fix the roof and replace the Bell Tower with a hip roof.
In your review of these 2 options for this project please consider the following:
1. The Significance of the Building, the Bell Tower, and the Bell
The now Library was formerly the New Gloucester High School. The Town established a high school in 1900, but class was held elsewhere until “several public-spirited gentlemen” purchased a lot for the Town to provide a home for the new high school which was completed in 1903. Although the new building included the bell tower, it was empty until the class of 1915 purchased a bell for the school. The last class graduated in 1962 with the formation of SAD 15.
The Library/Old High School building is designated as a “contributing” structure in the “New Gloucester Historic District. This District is more than just the Historic Resource Overlay District as defined in our Zoning Ordinance. It is an Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The New Gloucester (Lower Village) Historic District was nominated by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and accepted to the National Register in 1974. In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district significant.
This Building has been an important part of New Gloucester since 1903 and has been valued and maintained as such by the Town since then. Great care was taken in the engineering and design of the renovation and expansion of this Building to maintain historical architecture and features for its reuse as the Library.
2. The Options and the New Gloucester Zoning Ordinance*:
If the Bell Tower is taken down, the 14’ x14’ “spongy” area is fixed, and the Bell Tower is replaced/rebuilt as it now appears, fixing the leaky roof would be ordinary maintenance, or “repair of a structure’s exterior where such repair does not involve a change in design, or appearance” according to our Zoning Ordinance (see Article 4, Section 4.4.9 Historic Resource Overlay District, subsection E.).
And per the Ordinance “ordinary maintenance and repair” does not require a building permit (see Article 6, Section 6.1.1 Building Permits) or site plan review by the Planning Board even if the building/project is in the Historic Resource Overlay District.
However, if the Bell Tower is removed and not replaced/rebuilt and the area was covered with a hip roof…or anything other than the original Bell Tower or replica there of… the project would not be “ordinary maintenance or repair”. Not replacing the Bell Tower would “structurally alter” the building. Therefore, the project would require both a building permit (again see Article 6, Section 6.1.1 Building Permits) and site plan review by the Planning Board. Additional performance standards would also need to be met to maintain the structure’s distinctive historic qualities and character, according to the Zoning Ordinance.
3. In summary…
The Comprehensive Plan discusses New Gloucester’s Historic and Archeological Resources (pages 62-67) and specifically the Lower Village Historic District. It states, “The Lower Village has largely remained consistent with the conditions at the time of its nomination. Some of the contributing structures listed in the application for listing on the registry have had additions put on and/or had the exteriors remodeled, and one, the 1870 school house, was demolished before the town’s local historic preservation regulations were enacted.”
These historic preservation regulations were enacted by the citizens of New Gloucester for a reason. Please do not ignore them.
Keep The Bell Tower!
Beverly Cadigan
New Gloucester
* Zoning Ordinance, Article 1 subsection 1.4 Jurisdiction: “The provisions of this Ordinance shall govern all land and all structures within the boundaries of the Town of New Gloucester, Maine.”
Editor’s note: Beverly Cadigan sent a version of her letter to the Select Board, the Town Manager, and the Director of Public Works, who also oversees Buildings and Grounds.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this opinion piece are solely those of the author. Publication does not reflect endorsement by the NGXchange or its volunteers. NGX welcomes diverse viewpoints and invites your submissions. Learn more here.
