CONWAY — A contractor has been hired to shore up the United Congregational Church of Conway’s badly damaged building, allowing insurance assessors interior roof access to give a final repair estimate.
It’s been 185 days since February’s tornado badly damaged the historic Whately Road church. The bell tower will soon be taken down entirely for safety reasons and the exterior roof needs to be overhauled.
“I would be shocked if it goes back up,” said Rev. Candice Ashenden Wednesday. “We do have preliminary feelers out with a demolition company.”
Thayer Street Associates of South Deerfield will build a catwalk in the rafters and shore up the church’s balcony, floor, and ceiling. Then, the church’s organ will be removed and put into climate controlled storage. That will allow the interior walls to be torn down and replaced, if necessary, later.
Once the building has been made safe and its bell tower removed, insurance adjusters will be able to safely investigate for structural integrity and give a hard monetary repair figure. For now, Ashenden said the waiting game will continue.
“It’s a work in progress. Once he gets it shored up, the insurance company will come back and make the assessment. That will dictate a lot. They’re already saying we need to replace the outside roof,” Ashenden said. “As soon as we have the final assessment we’ll convene and discuss numbers.”
The church holds a policy with Union Mutual Insurance Company covering the building’s value, $1.6 million. Its organ is covered by a separate policy.
Most recently, the church voted to pay the town back $100,000, which was given through Community Preservation Act money three years ago to remove mold. With the money came a restriction that required the building to be preserved in its historic state for 30 years. But that can’t happen because the bell tower needs to be removed.
“The historic deed restriction has been removed,” Ashenden said. She noted the contract stipulated the town could release them at any time, either completely or for a lesser payback amount. The town still has right of first refusal if the church ever decides to sell the property.
Church members intend to write a warrant article at a future town meeting requesting the $100,000 is put back into the Community Preservation Act account. Right now it’s in general funds.
Despite the loss of its building, the church has continued to meet weekly. Through the summer, services were held at the Whately Congregational Church, which Ashenden said is tradition. Starting Sunday, Sept. 10, services will be held at the Conway Grammar School. The church meets Sundays at 9:30 a.m.