The spire and belfry of Whitefield Union Church will be removed within two weeks, code enforcement officer Arthur Strout said Wednesday.
Strout climbed into the steeple with a Winslow-based contractor and found “it was a lot more rotten on the bottom” of the bell tower than previously believed. “All of the Townhouse Road side of the belfry shows signs of decay and rot,” he said.
The Augusta-based Kennebec Community Church has taken an interest in the 1870-vintage Whitefield house of worship, which has dwindled in membership over the years. A pastor associated with the Augusta church, Lester Dancer, said it is Southern Baptist, possibly the largest denomination in the U.S., and funding is available. He hopes to plant a congregation by late January in Whitefield with the involvement of several young Augusta-based families.
“We’re going to partner with (the several remaining members) and replant this church. My uncle, Warren Russell, was a member of the Union Church for years, and as a small child I attended there,” he said.
Rev. Dancer also said the group’s intention was to serve the community while making the Kings Mills building safe.
“Our primary goal is not to put the steeple back. If we had that kind of money, we would want to spend it on the community. A steeple is great, but people need to eat.” Dancer said the base would be capped and the building would be made structurally safe. Painting the exterior and freshening up the interior are also among the plans.
More than a month ago, the CEO issued church deacon Earl Lemieux a 10-day correction order and advised that an engineer examine the tilting steeple to decide how to fix it.
“A crane will come in and take it off,” said Strout, referring to the top two sections.
At press time, Lemieux said he didn’t know if the base of the three-part steeple would also have to be removed. He and a local carpenter previously decided only the cone, or spire, was a problem. Lemieux said the next step was to arrange for a crane operator to do the work.
Dancer said he expects to get a cost quote soon from the contractor.
