Meeting house to change purpose by deadline
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

While both People Inc. and the Town of Amherst are anxious to move ahead with the lease agreement to change services at the Mennonite Meeting House, delays have plagued the plan.

Building Supervisor Thomas Ketchum said the town is moving forward, but there have been some setbacks.

The lease between People Inc. and the Town of Amherst is scheduled to begin Aug. 2. That involves moving records currently stored at the Mennonite Meeting House at North Forest Road and Main Street to their new location.

Then People Inc. will move its Museum of dis- ABILITY History, currently housed on North Forest Road, into the space.

"The site for the records was changed to the North Recreation Center at New Road and Smith," Ketchum said.

The original site for the records was at a garage on the Amherst State Park property but in addition to being named a historic site, the site would require considerable work.

Some building maintenance has been handled in-house at the North Recreation Center, but a contractor is needed for some of the work. Ketchum said it might be another two weeks before work can begin.

Once the work is completed at the new site, including installing insulation and a heating and cooling system, Ketchum anticipates the moving of the records will only take a few days.

Despite the delays, he expects an Aug. 1 completion date.

People Inc. President Jim Boles said the company is eager to move into the new site. It has been trying to acquire the space for a few years.

Boles said he hopes the museum will reopen by Aug. 15, which will conclude a long process.

"It's been two years since we originally started to discuss using the space," he said.

Wanting to stay in Amherst, People Inc. selected to pursue the meeting house and finally finished the lease agreement the beginning of the year.

He said the company liked the idea that the meeting house has history which complements the focus of the museum.

The current location, 1219 N. Forest Road, although drawing viewers, isn't in the best location, he said, adding that People Inc. looks forward to being at the busy intersection of Main Street and North Forest.

The meeting house will offer a bigger space, which will be used by adding more exhibits to the Museum of disABILITY History.

For more information, visit www.museumof disability. com.