Bell Tower Information
In the Spring of 2019, at the Building and Grounds Committee request, Building Envelope Specialists (BES) assessed the condition of the Church Building concluding:
- The Bell Tower had significantly deteriorated, posing risk of failure, safety and/or property damage
- The Slate Roof had outlived its useful life
- Provided other recommendations considered less urgent
East Elevation and Bell Tower Summary
Part 1- Complete Report
Part 2 -Complete Report
Additional background information:
2022
Bell Tower Presentation at 2022 Annual Meeting – You can view the presentation on YouTube.
A meeting was held on February 27, 2022, to further discuss and answer questions. You can view the meeting on our YouTube page by clicking here.
In March 2022, Edmund Hartt, then Jr. Warden, visited the Library at the University of Maine in Orono to view their collection of Leander Higgins pages – the architect of our current Church, Parish Hall and Bell Tower. Click here for a summary of his research. To the right is the original Church Architectural Drawing by E. Leander Higgins.
On March 16, 2022, Nancy Barba, a Historic Architect, met with the Building Committee to discuss the Bell Tower. Her letter of April 8, 2022, can be found here.
2023
February 2023 – A contract with Maine Highlands was approved by the Vestry.
March 2023 – A parish-wide meeting was held to discuss upcoming events at St. Thomas’. Click here for the portion of the meeting where a discussion on the status of the bell tower took place. The entire meeting can be viewed here.
April 2023 – A meeting was held with the Historical Preservation Committee – St. Thomas’ representatives were Rev. Lisa Fry, Edmund Hartt and Chuck Campbell (architect).Click for the link to the meeting found on the Town’s YouTube channel.
May 2023 – St. Thomas’ engaged Evergreen Philanthropic Solutions of Camden to determine the feasibility of a capital campaign to raise $1 million. Evergreen worked with the Capital Campaign Fundraising committee from May – July, conducting independent research and utilizing best practices in philanthropy.
On July 19, 2023, the Fundraising Committee and the Vestry were presented with Evergreen’s feasibility study. Based on Evergreen’s independent research, it was their determination that St. Thomas’ was not in a position to conduct a successful campaign at this time.
October 2023 – The Executive Summary of this study was sent to all St. Thomas’ Parishioners.
2024
On September 29, 2024, a Parish Meeting was held to begin the discussion of the Bell Tower. Click here for a link to the recorded meeting.
On October 27, 2024, a second Parish Meeting was held to continue the discussion of the Bell Tower.
View the ZOOM recording of the Bell Tower Discussion
Click here for the link to the PowerPoint presentation shared at the meeting.
*******************************
Building Committee Responses to Questions and Comments