City Hall move to church? Not a prayer of a chance

LACONIA — Some downtown business leaders say the idea of moving municipal offices to the St. Joseph Church campus is worth exploring, but from the viewpoint of city leaders, it doesn’t have a prayer of a chance.

City Manager Scott Myers said Wednesday that he met with the Rev. Marc Drouin, but doesn’t plan to write a report to the City Council about the meeting, “as this wasn’t a city initiative and there is nothing to report on."

Myers said, “I let him know that the city had not initiated the concept of moving City Hall and that we were also not in need of additional space, so this was certainly not a front-burner item from my perspective.” 

Mayor Ed Engler agrees with Myers.

“I absolutely concur that this was not a city initiative, never was, never has been, probably never will be,” Engler said.

“The chances of the city buying that property and turning it into City Hall and a City Council chambers are less than 1 percent. It’s beyond my wildest imagination. There are all kinds of issues, not the least of which is holding City Council meetings in a church. Just think about that. It’s beyond comprehension, and from a practical standpoint, why in the world would the city sink millions of dollars into an old school building to convert it into the City Hall? Sorry, that makes no sense to me whatever from an economic standpoint.”

Contacted Wednesday, city councilors Andrew Hosmer and David Bownes also said the idea appears financially problematic.

Two weeks ago, Patrick Wood, an attorney who is chairman of the city’s Downtown TIF Advisory Board, suggested studying the concept of selling City Hall, moving municipal offices to Holy Trinity School and placing City Council chambers in the church.

The board gives advice on downtown issues to the City Council, which selects the board’s members.

Wood said he knows of someone interested in buying the current municipal building, located at 45 Beacon St. East, and converting it to a use that would not be parking-intensive.

As part of consolidation plans, St. Andre Bessette Parish intends to move the school next year to the former convent at Sacred Heart Church. It also plans to sell St. Joseph Church, with deed restrictions prohibiting the buyer or subsequent owners from putting the property to a series of uses the diocese deems inappropriate.

If the property doesn’t sell, it could ultimately be demolished, although members of the congregation and the community have expressed wishes that the neo-Gothic building, constructed in 1929, be preserved.

Wood said his idea could save the church, which has ample parking to serve city employees, freeing up parking spaces they now use at the municipal building.

A nearby city parking garage leaks and has structural issues that put its long-term future into doubt.

If a private entity bought City Hall, some of the money from the sale could be used to purchase and renovate the church property. Also, City Hall could be added to the tax rolls.

Breanna Henderson, who owns the Polished & Proper Barber Shop and Shave Parlor downtown and is on the Downtown TIF Advisory Board, said the panel as a whole discussed the idea and felt it was worth exploring and presenting to the City Council.

“I appreciate its merit in being outside the box so to speak,” she said. “It’s better than just sitting around and still having the parking problem for another three years.”

She said there is not enough all-day parking downtown.

Henderson said that, at minimum, a study should be done on the parking issue.

Rep. Charlie St. Clair, who is also on the advisory board, said the idea is worth exploring.

“In my personal opinion, it doesn’t hurt to look into anything,” he said. “It’s an intriguing idea.

“I’m a survivor of urban renewal. I was horrified as a kid. You want to talk about dramatic moves, this is less dramatic than tearing down half the city like they did then.”

Robert Sawyer, who owns Sawyers Jewelry store downtown and is a former member of the downtown advisory panel, also said the idea is worth studying.

“It has the possibility of being a win-win for everybody,” he said.

Rev. Drouin was not available for comment Wednesday.

Last month, the Vatican and bishops proposed guidelines for the sale or reuse of Catholic churches to help ensure that they retain their cultural heritage and serve the good of the community, not commerce.

At the start of a conference, Pope Francis urged delegates to remember that churches and the religious art inside them “are witness to the faith of the community.”

He said any decision about their future uses should consider the needs of the poor and be taken “in dialogue” with the community.