Peggi Medeiros emailed me and asked me to link to this article about the Akin House in the S-T about the open house this weekend. And this article in the Chronicle about the history associated with the Akin House. She also said
I've been working on Akin since 2002 (long before WHALE bought it) first while at WHALE and now with the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust. This house matters to all of us. The foundations and interior supports (or lack of them) are truly an emergency. ...
CPA was voted in to support exactly this type of preservation project. 10% is budgeted for preservation. No other preservation projects are proposed. This one will have real concreteI do support the warrant article to preserve the Akin House. While I think that the house is not architecturally significant(my opinion, others disagree), the house does have historical significance as a window into the colonial period, our war with the English king, and the early years of our town and nation. Hope to see all of you at the tour.
results.
I hope you'll stop in this week end and support us at town meeting.
Sincerely,
Peggi Medeiros
Clerk
Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust
Posts
5 comments:
What is the real reason WHALE turned over the house back to the Town?
If the house is so unsafe and not structurally sound, why have people inside it? Why does the WHALE website say the house is solid and the Trustees say differently? No one has heard from the architect on this. What does he have to say? Who holds the preservation certificate(?) on the building? The Town can't. The builder who worked on the building says the building is safe but Diane Gilbert has argued it isn't. What qualifies her as a builder?
The real reason WHALE gave up on the Akin House is that they were tired getting into arguments with you know who. They won't tell you that, but anyone who knows this, knows the real story.
Anonymous, While I can't deny that Diane G can be difficult, I must disagree with your entire post. I hold an unrestricted construction license in MA, have looked at the Akin House, and also reviewed all of Whale's invoice and payment documents for this project. My opinion is that Whale had good intentions but failed miserably with their preservation efforts. A good portion of the money they put into this project was squandered. For example, first floor sill repair is marked by Whale as completed and paid($20,078) but there are still rotten sills. Having only four sills in this building, they should be solid for that money. I could go on with several other specific examples but Whale had good intentions so I am not looking to beat up on them. The fact is that the present condition of the house is not the fault of the CPC or the DHPT. It is what it is, unstable. Now that the building is in the hands of Diane and the DHPT, it seems they are headed in a much better direction as far as assessing structural needs and addressing them in the proper order, from the foundation up.
Barry, if you feel that WHALE had "good intentions" but "squandered" money and signed off on uncompleted projects, where are the "good intentions" and what is the justification for signing off on what they must have felt were "completed" projects (sills) but weren't? Who was watching the money?? Sounds like it was not used in the most efficient manner, and WHALE wasn't getting what it was paying for, and apparently wasn't mindful of that fact, either.
Sounds a little like incompetence or ignorance to me. Do you mean to say no one in WHALE recognized the fact that work wasn't done? Anyone should be able to see what is renovation and what still needs renovation; it's not rocket science.
Maybe WHALE's heart is in the right place, but from what you are stating and what you have observed, it sounds like WHALE leaves a lot to be desired, both in understanding the concept of what constitutes renovation in even the layman's eye, and what, when, and how much money should be paid out for this "renovation."
I respect your experience and knowledge and your commitment to excellence in workmanship, and Diane's as well. I doubt either of you would let any of this slide under your watch. Too bad Diane and the others are saddled with cleaning up someone else's mess.
Does anyone wonder, then, why residents are reluctant to spend or approve any more money for whatever projects or needs the town may
have, irregardless of whether or not they are "good opportunities that might be lost" if money were not shelled out now??
AKIN HOUSE a giant box to waste money on, Funny how the leader of the CFRG doesn't find this to be wasteful spending. It must be that he has not been instructed to find it a waste of money.. It must be a shame not being able to formulate a thought on your own.
I HOLD MUCH MORE THAN A CONTRACTOR'S LICENSE AND HAVE BEEN IN THE TRADE WELL OVER 30 YEARS WITH ONE OF MY SPECIALTIES BEING HISTORICAL RESTORATION, I VIEWED THIS BUILDING AND FOUND IT TO BE UNSAFE, THE RESTORATION WORK TO BE POOR TO SAY THE LEAST. IT'S OBVIOUS THAT SOMEONE HAS WASTED ALOT OF MONEY ON THIS BUILDING. IF OUR FORE-FATHERS HAD THIS BUILDING TODAY THEY WOULD BURN IT AND SIFT THRU THE ASHES FOR THE NAILS TO BE RE-USE TO BUILD A BETTER BUILDING.
SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING !
ANOTHER SAD CHAPTER IN DARTMOUTH'S HISTORY.
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