Face-lift, new ideas set for meeting house
by ELIZABETH TAUFA Reporter

The Village of Williamsville Meeting House, located at 5658 Main St., near Mill Street, is currently undergoing renovations to both its structure and uses.

When he took over as Village Board liaison to the Meeting House Committee this past summer, Trustee Brian Kulpa found himself planning a fashion show on a committee of women.

"The fashion show was pretty cutting edge for the meeting house because it was something that hadn't been done before," Kulpa said. "And it was combined with local business interests, which was a new dynamic."

The fashion show has been one of several new developments with the meeting house, which have been made possible by the Meeting House Committee.

"It's a very energetic group," Kulpa said. "They've really taken it upon themselves to take up fresh ideas and create more use and energy around the building."

Originally built in 1871, as the meeting place for a Christian group that found a home in Williamsville, the building was used consistently until 1976 when the founding organization sold the building to the village for $1.

The village's meeting house, located at 5658 Main St., near Mill Street, has been used by various renters, including the Newman Center from Erie Community College and the Buffalo Friends of Folk Music. The building is also rented for weddings, lectures and other temporary or one-time uses.

"The uses are consistent with the history of the meeting house," Kulpa said.

The meeting house has been going through periods of renovation for several years now. The original renovations were made due to block grant funding acquired by the village.

Further renovations, mostly including a total repoint of the exterior of the building, have been addressed by Kulpa and the committee, who are aiming to get work done during the spring 2008 construction season.

"Aside from the repoint, there's not a lot of maintenance that the building needs," he continued. "The building is (in remarkable shape, and it was transferred to me in remarkable shape."

But the renovation of the meeting house isn't just physical, according to Kulpa. New events and groups are finding their way to the building, thanks to the efforts of the committee.

A "Green Event" series, in conjunction with the village's Environmental Advisory Committee, will begin in February.

The series will include movies and presentations on environmental issues. The first installment will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 and will feature University at Buffalo energy conservation officer Walter Simpson as speaker, and the film will be Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."

"It's a great opportunity to bring speakers like that into the village because it fills an educational role in the village," Kulpa said. "It also provides us a linkage to the university."

The series will continue from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 15 with Erie County Recycling Coordinator Gary Carrel and the film "End of Suburbia." On Saturday, April 26, in conjunction with the Earth Day event at Ed Youngs Plaza, Kevin Lee, recycling and last use resource manager, will be the speaker, and the film will be Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary "The 11th Hour."

Another new series that will be at the meeting house is the Village Book Club. The first book selection will be "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel" by Lisa See, and the meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13.

"We're always looking for fresh ideas, and we're trying to be innovative," Kulpa said. "We want it to be a place where there's always an event going on, so that will hopefully spill into the business district on Main Street."