Sold: People Inc. buys Mennonite House
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The Mennonite Meeting House might now be private property. The Amherst Town Board voted 5-2 on Monday to sell the structure to People Inc. for a bid of $263,000, in addition to the $37,000 already invested by the company.

But as has been the case with many companies who deal with the town, representatives from People Inc. left the meeting not knowing fully what had just happened.

People Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer James M. Boles said he wasn't certain about the details of the final contract. The company planned to review the town's changes.

The discussion got out of hand as the board attempted to amend the resolution, thus amending the contract that had been delivered at 4 p.m. that day. During the confusion it was determined that the Town Board and the Town Attorney's Office were working off different contracts.

When Attorney Tom Jones asked about changes to a certain clause, Mohan responded that they were already there. It was then realized the attorneys were never given a copy of the new contract.

"I can't give any advice on something I have not seen," Jones said.

Additional confusion ensued when Council Member Deborah Bruch Bucki asked for amendments, but she wouldn't vote for them.

"If we sell the building, it's like selling history," she said, but if the board was going to sell it, she wanted to make sure the town could get the property back.

She asked for a right of refusal clause, meaning the board could buy back the building if People Inc. stopped using it for its Museum of disABILITY.

The board appeared to vote on that clause after an argument about the second part of the clause. The members debated whether to include a price in the amendment, saying the town could buy it back at $300,000 or the appraised price at the time - whichever was cheaper.

During the meeting, Supervisor Satish Mohan put Boles on the spot, asking him if that was acceptable. Boles responded that since the money was being borrowed from a bank he couldn't answer at that time.

With a background in business, Council Member William A. O'Loughlin Jr. spoke against the idea of adding such a clause.

"I would walk away if I were them," he said. "This is not appropriate."

O'Loughlin added that the board was figuratively putting a gun to People Inc.'s head, pressuring it to make an agreement.

Council Member Dan Ward, who opposed the sale, shot back, saying it was the company that was putting the gun to the Town Board's head.

"This is no way to do business," Ward said.

In the end, the board approved Council Member Bill Kindel's resolution, his last of this term, selling the public, historical building to a private, not-for-profit organization.

"A museum will be a far better use than storage," he said.

In addition to the purchasing price, People Inc. has estimated that $140,000 in repairs are necessary. The figure was attacked by some residents during the public comment period, disgusted that the town had allowed the building to "fall apart."

Mohan addressed those concerns, saying the building will be repaired and in better shape with People Inc. owning it.

He added that the current condition of the building doesn't give it the respect it deserves.

The building was built in 1834 and served as a house of worship. The town purchased it 20 years ago for $100,000.

It is listed as a historic building and is protected by that label, meaning the exterior can't be changed and the uses are limited, such as to a meeting house, museum or church.

People Inc. has been interested in moving its Museum of disABILITY, the first of its kind, into the building at Main Street and North Forest Road, for three years. After a lease agreement fell through, the company offered to purchase it.

The land was appraised at $220,000.

The public has 30 days to respond in writing. If 5 percent of the population that voted in the past election oppose the sale then it would have to go to a public vote.

Final contract agreements were not available at press time.