Stabilization of historic firehouse estimated at $90,000; moving structure also recommended

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Credits for the restoration work done more than a decade ago when historic preservation held a higher  priority.

In the ongoing dust-up over the future of the nearly 150-year-old Yosemite Firehouse on Route 103 in Chester, the question of its condition and the funds that would be needed to save it have been a sticking point for all concerned.

And now, with the arrival of an assessment by historic preservation architect Tom Keefe, there are some answers. For the most part, the condition is not too bad, and the cost would be $225,000 less than some earlier estimates. Read the full text of the assessment here.

Keefe did a similar assessment in September 2000 for the Chester Historical Society under then-President Chris Curran. That study resulted in a substantial amount of work being done to the hose tower, roof and cupola with grant funding from the Preservation Trust of Vermont and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Historic Preservation Division.

Historic preservation architect Tom Keefe writes that the Yosemite Firehouse work would include repair of siding and trim, painting all the surfaces below the roof, conservation of the sashes and doors and shoring up the foundation of the addition pictured above. Telegraph photos.

In his current assessment, Keefe compares the condition of the building today with the shape it was in 14 years ago and concludes that the building has fared remarkably well considering its location and the major storms it has weathered in that time. He credits the condition to the  repairs done more than a decade ago.

“The 2004 repairs helped tremendously in keeping the historic resource intact, by repairing the most difficult and hard to access elements; the work appears largely sound …” writes Keefe.

“There is still much to be done, and the deferred maintenance is resulting in loss of historic fabric, increase in costs to repair, and may also contribute to a public perception that this is not a significant enough resource to merit the effort and funding necessary to ensure its survival.”

In the report, Keefe outlined the problems with the building and estimated the cost of repairs. The work includes slate roof maintenance, repair of siding and trim, painting all the surfaces below the roof, conservation of the sashes and doors, replacement of the foundation under the addition on the east side, repair and rebuilding of the chimney and pruning trees that are encroaching on the building.

Keefe estimates that this work would cost between $73,700 and $88,200, which is substantially less than estimates circulating since this episode began early this year, including an estimate from Chester Historical Society President Ronald Patch of $250,000 for lead remediation and painting  and up to $70,000 to shore up the eastside addition.

Nails protruding from the clapboards on the Yosemite Firehouse.

According to Keefe, the proposed work would stabilize the building. But for the long-term safety and preservation of the structure, he recommends relocation. “Serious consideration should be given to moving this building to a location where it can be properly maintained and used as a community resource … it clearly cannot survive in its present location,” writes Keefe.

Acknowledging the difficulty and expense of such a move, Keefe notes that the Yosemite Firehouse “is a unique and noteworthy building, and a strong character defining element of Chester – one of the most photographed buildings in a town full of remarkable and picturesque buildings. … This is an historic building worthy of that effort.”