PROJECT UPDATE AND SUMMARY By Michael V. Sims
June 4, 2000At a meeting of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association last May 7 at the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, I presented those assembled with an update on my planning for restoration of the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church. At the previous meeting in January, it was the general consensus that some investigation should be made into the costs and scope repairs needed to keep the building standing. A mixture of caution and interest was expressed about a more complete restoration at that time. So at the May meeting, I outlined the preliminary estimate I received from Malone Construction of Selma for repairs to the brick piers, the rotten sills, the whole South wall, and the roof. I reported that I had submitted a preliminary application for an $18,000 matching grant from the Alabama Cultural Preservation Trust Fund, which would mean a $36,000 overall budget for repairs. After some discussion, the members of the Cemetery Association agreed that I should proceed with submitting the final grant application, and that I should increase the amount of the request for matching money to the maximum of $25,000, thereby increasing the total budget to $50,000. The additional money would used to repair all fourteen windows of the church. The opinion that the Cemetery Association could raise its half of the matching money was confidently expressed.
I have now submitted the final application, which was due June 1. I received word from the grant coordinator at the Alabama Historical Commission that the preliminary application was excellent, and although competition is expected to be high, our application is very strong and highly competitive. The grants will be awarded in mid-August.
For those of you who don’t already know, I have proposed a two-year, two-phase restoration of the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church to its 1852 design and appearance. In Phase One, the goal is to produce a stable, watertight structure. The foundation will be restored, retaining and preserving the original brick piers. Severely damaged piers will be reconstructed; twentieth-century concrete piers will be replaced with replicas of original brick piers. The damaged sills of the South, North, and West walls will be repaired or replaced with a replicas of the original hand-hewn sills. Siding from the South wall will be used to repair damaged areas on the North, East, and West walls. Missing siding on the South wall will be replaced with matching siding, and South wall will be primed and painted. Fourteen triple-hung windows will be restored, using original and reproduction sashes and sash weights. The damaged area of the portico floor will be replaced to match the original floor, and the portico floor will be primed and painted. Loose portions of the metal roof will be secured in order to stop leaks. The roof, eaves, truss system, panelled ceiling, and cupola will be inspected, measured, photographed, and drawn in preparation for the next phase of preservation. If all goes well, Phase One, with a estimated budget of $50,000 would begin in late August or early September of this year, and be completed around Thanksgiving.
Phase Two will involve painting the church, putting on a new roof, restoring the bell tower, fixing the ceiling, and plastering and painting the interior, as well as developing display materials on community and chuch history. I am expecting to apply for another $25,000 matching grant for that phase, with another annual budget of $50,000.
Between now and mid-August, I need to finish architectural specifications for the work, with the help of Ed Hooker, the preservation architect who has agreed to work with us. As for financial and legal structure, the general opinion seems to be that although the Cemetery Association is the owner of the property and all business must officially go through that channel, some separate, provisional structure must be arranged to handle the large responsibility of receiving donations and conducting the restoration. To that end, Mitch Hungerpiller, CPA and Pleasant Hill descendant, has agreed to make a proposal to the Cemetery Association for financial administration of the restoration project as well as for maintenance of the property once restoration is complete.
By Michael V. Sims
I am happy to report that we have been awarded a $22,000 matching grant from the Alabama Historical Commission.
By Michael V. Sims
We are about a month behind my ideal schedule due to a delayed start and the frequency of rain during the past two or three weeks. Randy [Malone]has estimated with confidence that all of the work we have planned will be accomplished by the end of February... Things are going
slowly and what is happening can't be easily seen from the road. I am of the mind that it is preferable to bear the delays and slowness if it means that things will get done well and carefully...The brick piers on the east and west sides have been dismantled and holes have been dug for the concrete footings. Rain has made Randy
hesitant to bring in a concrete truck, as he want to avoid tearing up the ground. Barring rain today, he plans to place the concrete tomorrow... Randy believes that by December 15 the dismantled piers should be replaced, and then he will be
able to break apart the concrete piers and start replacing them. Jean Peck donated old bricks, and these are on site waiting to be used.The tin that blew off the roof in July or August has been fixed.
Taylor Cox donated some large beams to use in repairing the south wall, and Randy has gone to Birmingham and brought these back. Randy has removed enough siding from the south wall to know the full extent of the work needed to repair the framing. It seems that the long celing beam down
the center of the church is framed into another ceiling beam which spans the south wall. This second beam was supported by a large vertical framing member which in turn rests on the rotten south sill. As the sill rotted, the vertical piece slipped out of place, leaving the ceiling beams unsupported and necessitating the posts which currently hold up the ceiling. Randy says he will need to shore up the center floor joists with temporary piers from below in order to jack up the ceiling beams. This has to be done before he can replace the south sill.In the meantime, he says he can set about patching the siding on the other three walls with the siding salvaged from the south wall.
The window sashes are now at the window maker's, and the glass man is cutting new panes.
To be notified of updates, or for more information concerning the ongoing effort
to save the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church, please contact:sstoermer@earthlink.net
Updated 3/05/2000