Owner of old YMCA building gets two weeks to secure roof

By BILL CHAISSON
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BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — At their Nov. 13 meeting the trustees of Bellows Falls decided to give Chris Glennon, the owner of the old YMCA building near the elementary school, two weeks to put a tarpaulin over the roof. Shingles have been falling from the building and landing on the sidewalk used by children on their way to school. An engineer’s report prepared for the Town of Rockingham indicates that the entire structure is unstable and that interior ceilings are already collapsing.

The meeting began with the trustees asking Glennon to come forward to read to them a plan of action that they had requested three weeks earlier.Glennon prefaced his reading by telling the board that he had located a tarpaulin and would pick it up in Brattleboro “in a few days.” He also said that he would be using “period wood and materials” to do the repairs.

Glennon said his report was short and to the point with three main points. First, the upper roof would be encased in tarpaulins, tied down and secured for winter. This eliminates the problem of loose slates and the need for street barriers. Second, the above work permits him to do interior tasks, including cleaning up pigeon debris and repairing the roof supports. Third, his funding is private and he will proceed in a “pay as I go” manner, incurring no debt or obligations.

Deborah Wright, chair of the board, was not pleased with the plan, reminding Glennon that the board had asked for a detailed plan, which should have included describing who would do the work, when the work would be finished, and how much money had been allocated for the work. “We also would have preferred to get this plan prior to the meeting,” she said, “so that we could look it over carefully.”

Trustee Stefan Golec asked Glennon what kind of tarpaulin he was getting. Glennon assured him that it was industrial grade although he was not sure of the type of material or the gauge. “It’s the heaviest one they make,” he said. It is 100 feet by 50 feet.

Glennon said that we would doing the work himself with the help of two volunteers who are former roofers and know how to do the job.

“I’ve picked up no slate since August,” said the owner. “There’s nothing coming down right now. I’ll pick up the tarp in a couple of days and then get the ladders, and we’ll done within a week.”

Trustee James McCauliffe was not satisfied. He said Glennon had not met the conditions set out by the board and urged his colleagues to invoke the unsafe buildings ordinance immediately, because it would give the town and village permission to erect barriers around the building.

“Frankly,” said McCauliffe, “they idea of Chris and a couple of buddies going up and tarping that roof scares the bejesus out of me. It needs to be done by licensed and insured people.”

Trustee Jonathan Wright disagreed. “It’s not our decision how he does this,” he said. “It’s a private property issue. There’s no code in the state of Vermont to mandate that he has anyone with a particular skillset or license do this work. I don’t think we have the ability legally …”

McCauliffe interrupted to say he was only expressing his personal opinion.

“OK,” continued Wright. “Regardless of what Glennon does, we’ve asked the town to secure the street. When is that happening?”

Town Manager Wendy Harrison said it was going to happen the next day.

Wright went on to say he believed that Glennon’s document addressed the major concerns of the board and that it solved the issue of the falling slate. “It’s forward progress. We should close the street, but take no other action.”

Deborah Wright was concerned that erecting barriers would hinder Glennon’s access to the building.

Glennon said his biggest problem was utility wires along the side of the building and they were the reason he decided to use ladders instead of a lift truck.

Harrison told the board that because the town and the village were incurring costs related to erecting the barriers, the village intended to put a lien on Glennon’s property to cover the costs. She also reminded the board that if they did not invoke the unsafe building ordinance, they didn’t have the right to put up fencing or barriers on Glennon’s property.

Golec reminded everyone that the motion recommended fencing not barriers, as it had been decided that children would merely go over the barriers. He also said that “this is a two-way street” and that they should be working the matter out with Glennon. Golec was aware of the snowfall predicted for Friday (Nov. 16) and warned that it could delay the work Glennon promised. He too suggested that the trustees go ahead with the street closure.

Glennon did not want the barriers erected. “I find no record of anyone being injured by falling slate,” he said, saying he had looked at documents that extended back into the 19th century. The building was constructed in 1835.

Bellows Falls Police Chief Ron Lake spoke up to counter Glennon’s argument. “There may have been no incident since 1835,” he said, “but if a slate hits a child tomorrow, we’ll be back here saying, ‘Oh darn, we should have done something differently.’” He reiterated the snow warning and urged the board to take action.

Chuck Wise, the town planner for Rockingham, reminded the trustees that this was not just a roof problem, but that an engineer had expressed concern about the entire roof failing because joists and crossbeams have already begun to move. The entire structure is unstable, he said. “Either through zoning or the unsafe building ordinance,” Wise continued, “were are going to get that secured.”

Ed Ross, the building’s caretaker, asked why the local government had not taken action sooner. Deborah Wright explained that the village can only get involved in a private property issue if there is concern expressed by the public to the village government.

At McCauliffe’s urging, the motion written three weeks before, which invoked the unsafe building ordinance, was put to a vote. The motion failed 3-2.

Jonathan Wright then framed a new motion that called for the barriers to be erected, to allow Glennon to go ahead with his tarpaulin work, and to revisit it the issue at their next meeting on Nov. 26. At that point, he said, the board would readdress with Glennon what had been done and what still needed to be done.

Harrison noted that with the failure of the original motion the ordinance was not invoked and therefore the village and town were not allowed to go onto Glennon’s property. Golec suggested that they simply ask for Glennon’s permission, as he was sitting right there. Glennon gave permission with the condition that the fencing be erected in a way that would allow him access to the building in order to place his ladders where he needed them.

Wright’s motion carried 4-1 with only McCauliffe voting against it.