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Bell tolls for Winslow church

Town asks for permission to demolish Abbott Road structure

By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

WINSLOW -- An old Baptist church on Abbott Road that's been vacant for decades is barely standing and should be torn down soon because it's a public danger.

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ASHES TO ASHES: Walls, the roof and steeple have caved in at the East Winslow Baptist Church on Abbott Road. The town of Winslow has filed papers in Kennebec County Superior Court for a hearing to tear down the old building.

Staff photo by David Leaming

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The town government makes that argument in a complaint filed recently in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta.

"The church in its present condition," according to the complaint, "is structurally unsafe, unstable, unsanitary, constitutes a fire hazard, is unsuitable for the use to which it had been put and constitutes a hazard to health and safety because of dilapidation and abandonment."

The church was built around 1837 by the Free Will Baptists, who embodied the Abolitionist and women's suffrage movements. The building hasn't been used for services since the 1950s and has been vacant and boarded-up for decades, according to a published report.

Winslow officials have been eyeing the building's demolition for about two years -- after the roof caved in and brought the steeple and bell with it -- but have not been able to locate the property's legal owners.

A loosely-knit nonprofit group that purchased the property disbanded many years ago and no one has been willing to claim ownership.

One of the founding members of the group is 94-year-old Minna Pachowsky of Waterville, who was one of 12 children of Fred and Myrtle Abbott who attended services at the East Winslow Baptist Church. Pachowsky's daughter, Janice Carpenter of Portland, said Thursday she was surprised that the town hadn't taken action sooner.

"I think that's what they have to do, because of the logistics of how the property was transferred; it went from one entity to another," Carpenter said. "They need to clear it so they can do something with it. I think many in the neighborhood feel it's long overdue."

The town's request for quick action by a court was prompted recently when Winslow Code Enforcement Officer Frank Stankevitz noticed that the building's side walls had collapsed and "thought it prudent for us to move quickly," said Town Manager Michael Heavener.

"You hate to see a structure like that left falling apart. It's unfortunate we need to do this, but we have to," Heavener said.

The court complaint was filed July 20 by Town Attorney William Lee of the Waterville law firm O'Donnell, Lee, McCowan & Phillips LLC. It seeks "demolition of dangerous building by summary process" -- a hearing could be set any day now -- because of "a threat to public health, safety and welfare."

The complaint states that on May 4, 1973, East Winslow Baptist Church Associates, Inc., purchased the land and building from the United Baptist Convention of Maine. The building was commonly known as the Baptist Meeting House.

That corporation was the last known owner of the property and the building has been vacant for 15 years, the complaint says.

"During that time, the dual ravages of time and Mother Nature have taken a severe toll on the building," the complaint states.

As a result, according to the complaint, the building's roof has caved in; its steeple and bell have fallen through the floor; the southeast wall has toppled out onto the ground; and the inside has been covered with fallen beams, timbers, broken grass and exposed electrical wiring.

If the court grants permission, the town could soon deploy public works employees to demolish the structure, Heavener said.

In addition, the property will now be listed on the tax rolls -- which apparently has never happened before, Heavener said. If no one comes forward to pay the tax assessment, the town would then acquire the property through foreclosure.

"There may be some costs associated with the demolition," Heavener said, "but if the town ends up acquiring the property we would then turn around and sell it, and recover whatever expenses we've had."

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com