GRAFTON — A Mascoma-area preservation group this week cleared the biggest hurdle yet in its effort to restore the Grafton Center Meetinghouse.
With an agreement in hand from the Grafton Selectboard to stop contesting the sale of the fire-damaged historic landmark on U.S. Route 4, Mascoma Valley Preservation is preparing to buy the meetinghouse for $7,000 from the Peaceful Assembly Church.
“We’re trying to figure out the scheduling for the closing,” Elaina Bergamini, a Grafton resident and member of the nonprofit group, said Thursday.
While the preservationists were raising money to buy the 1797-vintage building and to start preliminary repairs on the roof — they reached their goal earlier this week — they also were negotiating with the town over a contract under which Mascoma Valley Preservation would cover the back taxes the church owed, as well as the legal fees the town incurred in pursuing a court injunction against the church.
During the Selectboard meeting on Tuesday night, the two members present, Jennie Joyce and Steve Darrow, voted to approve the contract and drop the town’s legal case.
“It was the best deal possible for both sides,” Joyce said Thursday. “I think it’ll bring the community together.”
Mascoma Valley Preservation is counting on Grafton residents as well as the wider Mascoma community to help both with money and with sweat equity in bringing the building back into shape as a community center. So far, the organization has raised about $15,000 toward its Phase 1 goal of $50,000, and volunteers have started removing debris and planting flowers on the site.
“It still needs a lot of cleaning on the outside,” Joyce said. “There’s a pile of brush there, still, and an old car to clear out.
“They still have their work cut out for them.”
To learn more about donating money or in-kind services to the meetinghouse restoration effort, visit mascomavalleypreservation.org.
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com or 603-727-3304.