Council votes to stabilize School Street Barn
Date: 2/22/2013
By Carley Dangona
carley@thereminder.comAGAWAM — At its regular meeting on Feb. 19, the City Council voted 7 to 4 to approve a resolution granting $315,000 of Community Preservation Funds (CPA) to reinforce the School Street Barn.
The council unanimously approved a second resolution, TR-2013-9, allowing the acceptance of a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC). City Council President Christopher Johnson amended the first resolution to stipulate that the $315,000 in funds could be used, provided the town is awarded of the MHC grant.
Deborah Dachos, director of Planning and Community Development, spoke in favor of the project during the "Citizen's Speak Time" portion of the meeting.
Dachos said, "The funds sought for this project are to be used to acquire, preserve, rehabilitate and restore a historic structure. Without CPA funds, the town would have to pay for the repairs [out of its budget]. A balance of $100,000 would be left over from CPA for other projects."
According to Dachos, efforts began in 2002 to restore the School Street Barn. The total funds of $415,000 would cover the cost of a new foundation, first floor framing, new siding and insulation, new roofing, exterior doors and windows and a handicapped lift.
In December 2012, Dachos and William Crosskey of Crosskey Architects LLC, introduced the option of transforming the barn into a multi-purpose building for public use for events such as farmers' markets or concerts. The project was presented in three phases, the first being the stabilization of the barn.
The vote on Feb. 19 only pertained to Phase 1, with the other possibilities to be further researched and discussed. Completion of the first phase, stabilizes the barn to ensure that it will not further deteriorate and remain a historic building for the town.
The wheelchair lift is a necessary requirement for the barn if public access is allowed regardless of its future use, according to Crosskey.
The opinions about the future use of the barn varied; all agreed that the barn is an important piece of Agawam history and should be conserved.
Elizabeth Rairigh, Historic Preservation planner for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, noted that the barn was admitted to the Massachusetts State Register of Historic Places in July of 2002 and to the National Register of Historic Places in September of 2002.
Caroline Reed of the Agawam Cultural Council stated, "Right now our programs must rely on the Agawam Public Library and the senior center to host shows. We frequently deal with space constraints, limited seating, lighting issues and scheduling conflicts. We are in support of the renovation of the barn into a multi-use space."
She continued, "The barn could serve as a performance venue. It could host regular art exhibitions or serve as a teaching space. It could step into its full potential while paying homage to the past."
Corinne Wingard, member of the Community Preservation Committee, said, "I think we can all agree that everyone loves the barn. The only thing we have to decide tonight is Phase 1, to preserve the barn and have the option in the future of doing more."
Resident Gary Janulewicz said, "I am in support of Phase 1. There are many ideas of what could be, but there has to be further study on the future. Regardless, the barn needs to be preserved."
Main opposition to the idea of creating the barn into a mulit-use facility for events came from Councilors George Bitzas and Robert Magovern and Cecilia Calabrese.
"I do love the barn. In Europe you don't enter historical structures such as Acropolis and the Coliseum you view them," Bitzas said.
"The proposal is overkill. If they want to spend $800,000 for a cultural center, there are other means," Magovern stated.
"The plan [all three phases] is a complete reuse and restructure of the barn — not preserving, but repurposing. I cannot swallow close to $1 million for an old barn," Calabrese said.
Councilor Robert Rossi clarified, "Regardless of its intended use in the future, we're voting for Phase 1. We should give this project a chance. For now we should restore and rehabilitate it — the CPA funds are earmarked for this reason."
Councilor Paul Cavallo added, "There's a lot that can be done. Unless another building is found, the money will just sit there."
At its next meeting on March 4, the council will consider a resolution requesting that historic restrictions be applied to the School Street Barn site.
