Trustee Andrew J. Cavanaugh has suggested that the Garden City Board of Trustees consider undertaking a study focusing on how the lead and dust situation can be abated in the Historic Main Building at St. Paul’s. The condition is currently preventing anyone from entering the structure.

“It occurs to me that as a precursor to any action on St. Paul’s, whether it be a reopening, a mothballing, or even a demolition, we are going to have to abate that condition first,” he said at the March 4th Board meeting. “We would have the benefit of taking the necessary first step to any next event, and we would perhaps be better able to assess our opportunities with the building and go in and show it to ourselves and others who may come and be interested in the current state of the building.”

Deputy Mayor Donald Brudie agreed with Cavanaugh that a study should be done focusing on abatement. “It has to be in a condition to be able to show it,” he said. “So, if we don’t put it in that condition, we are never going to be able to show it. So it’s a catch-22. We must take the necessary steps to go forward in that regard.”

Mayor Robert J. Rothschild said Cavanaugh can put his request on a future Board meeting agenda for further discussion and vote. In October, the Mayor announced that the Historic Main Building at St. Paul’s was not safe for human entry because of the presence of high levels of lead and dust in the air. Only firefighters trained in the proper use of breathing apparatus can now enter the building if necessary due to fire or life-saving efforts. Any developer interested in the building can only look at it from the outside.

According to Maureen Traxler, who is a member of the Garden City Historical Society and the Committee to Save St. Paul’s, two female representatives of the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) who wanted to assess the building’s condition were denied entry on Feb. 11, even though they were willing to wear protective gear and sign an insurance waiver absolving the Village from any liability. They wanted to assess the interior condition in case they are called upon to comment for the draft Environmental Impact Statement. Even though they were not able to see the inside of the building, they met that day with Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle, Jr.

“They were well aware of the lead contamination,” Traxler said. “They go into these buildings all of the time.” She asked if the Village has prepared an insurance waiver so that entry would be permitted.

Mayor Rothschild denied her waiver request. He said he has discussed the matter with Village counsel, the Village’s insurance company and other Board members, and they are all “not comfortable” with allowing anyone into the building, even with waiver indemnification.

Traxler said that one of the representatives informed her and Schoelle that there are abatement grants available. Schoelle responded that he is aware of monies available through the Environmental Bond Act for the demolition of Ellis Hall and the environmental cleanup of the Main Building. He said the Village applied for $1 million, but has since learned the amount available is substantially lower.

“The Village’s application under the Counts bond act was for asbestos and lead remediation in Ellis Hall and in the Main Building, as well as demolition of Ellis Hall,” he explained to The Garden City News via e-mail after the meeting. “The Village’s grant request was for $1.565 million; $300,000 was awarded, with a Village contribution of $1.265 million.”

Administrator Schoelle said he asked the Village’s Dept. of Public Works to get a proposal from JBH Environmental Restoration, Inc., a company that has done abatement work for the Village in the past. “JBH Environmental Restoration, Inc. quoted $58,700 to remove loose and flaking lead-based paint from walls and ceiling in the lobby area, two adjacent parlor rooms, main stair landing on the second floor and the chapel,” he told The Garden City News via e-mail. “This includes cleaning up the lead dust and debris in these areas. An additional $17,000 would be required to apply a coating to the above affected areas. This abatement is only for the areas noted in the proposal. The lead dust samples indicated contamination in other areas as well.”

Patricia DiMattia, president of the Central Property Owners’ Association, supported Trustee Cavanaugh’s suggestion to do an abatement study. She said abating the condition so people can once again enter the building may be a way to “get the wheels going” on a new idea for building use. “We haven’t closed the book on St. Paul’s, we really haven’t,” she said.

The Mayor wants to proceed cautiously. “I don’t want people to think that because we’re cleaning up the environmental issue that we’ve saved the building.” He said people are still presenting ideas to the Board for consideration, including turning the building into a hotel and spa. He said the majority of Board members do not think that use would be appropriate.

Garden City resident Jim Gillespie asked if the building is structurally sound enough for people to enter if the environmental condition is abated. Mayor Rothschild said some portions of the building are not structurally sound and there are holes in certain areas on the floor.

Gillespie thinks nobody should be allowed to enter the building. “I appreciate people’s sentimentality about the building,” he said. “I question the historic nature of it. But I think this Village, in light of all of the economic travails that have been a significant part of many people’s lives, really has to move forward on resolving this without throwing good money after bad....Vacant buildings don’t get better over time. They get much worse. I think it would be inviting tragedy if we started parading people through this building again.”