The board chairwoman said the Polish historic district would help Ward 1 and the city as a whole.
HOLYOKE -- Historical Commission Chairwoman Olivia Mausel urged the City Council to show "courage" and vote on Tuesday (April 7) to adopt an ordinance to establish a Polish Heritage Historic District on Lyman Street featuring the closed Mater Dolorosa Church.
"When it's all said and done, this proposed project, with its many positive aspects, is good for Holyoke -- for our businesses, our tax base and our integrity as a caring diverse community," Mausel said in an April 3 letter (full text below) to councilors.
Mausel's entreaty is among a flurry of lobbying aimed at the 15 councilors as a decision at 7 p.m. at City Hall would cap a more than four-year study of the proposed historic district that has beenriddled with arguments and criticism.
Mausel led the study as a member of the Fairfield Avenue Local Historic District Commission. Establishing a Polish Heritage Historic District would help in revitalizing Ward 1 by so designating 21 residential and commercial properties on the south side of Lyman Street, she said.
"All the residences and businesses and the church will qualify for federal and state grants for exterior improvements. Commission guidelines for all renovations are and will be liberal for property owners," Mausel said.
Because it is a zoning issue, approval is needed from a two-thirds majority of the 15-member City Council, or 10 votes.
Support of the full City Council for the Polish historic district is uncertain even though the council Ordinance Committee has voted 4-1 to recommend the ordinance be adopted.
After the Diocese closed Mater Dolorosa Church in 2011, then-Mayor Elaine A. Pluta asked the the Fairfield Avenue Local Historic District Commission in December of that year to explore the formation of a Polish historic district.
That commission's report is the proposed ordinance facing the City Council.
Supporters want the historic designation largely because of Mater Dolorosa Church (It's Latin for "sorrowful mother," a reference to the mother of Christ.) The 114-year-old church at Lyman and Maple streets was built and paid for by Polish immigrants, who came here in heavy numbers between the 1890s and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 to work in the paper and other mills.
Supporters of the proposal want Mater Dolorosa safeguarded by such a historic designation, bitter that the Diocese closed the church in 2011 and refusing to believe Diocese officials' assurances that there are no plans to demolish Mater Dolorosa Church.
Foes of the proposal said such arguments ignore the reality of declining numbers of parishioners and the need to merge, which is what happened in 2011. The Diocese combined Mater Dolorosa with the former Holy Cross Church to form Our Lady of the Cross. That parish has Masses and other services at the former Holy Cross Church at 23 Sycamore St.
Slap a "historic" marker on Mater Dolorosa Church, opponents of the proposal said, and that relegates the structure unsellable because no one wants a property bearing such historic-upkeep restrictions.
Maintenance of Mater Dolorosa Church would fall to Our Lady of the Cross parish, opponents of the proposal said, which can't afford such costs.
The Diocese closed Mater Dolorosa Church because of declining numbers of parishioners here and concerns about the stability of the steeple -- itself a matter of contention.
An engineer hired by the Diocese determined the steeple atop the church was structurally unsound and should be removed.
"It is only a matter of time before there is either a partial or compete failure of the wood framed steeple structure," said the May 2, 2011 report done for the Diocese by Engineering Design Associates Inc. of West Springfield.
Those findings were disputed by Neal B. Mitchell, president of Neal Mitchell Associates of Northbridge, which did a report for free for Friends of Mater Dolorosa.
Because of the steeple's "tension cage" structure of timber, bricks and steel rods, Mitchell said in a July 25, 2011 report, "There is no way that this tower will ever fail with this structural combination."
To read the report about the proposal and see a map of the proposed district, go to the city website at holyoke.org. In the drop-down menu on the right side, click on "Historical and Fairfield Avenue Commissions," and on the left side of the page that comes up, click on "Proposed Polish Heritage Local Historic District."
Mausel's letter to the City Council:
"Fairfield Avenue Local Historic Commission was commissioned to study the
Lyman Street area for its historical significance representing all citizens of the City of Holyoke. Surprisingly, Holyoke has only one local historical district. This Study Committee has been on a 4 year adventure requiring a ton of paperwork, assessor's maps, property owner lists, multiple public hearings and committee hearings, demands for minutes, and criticism from some who have no interests in the Holyoke, including lawyers looking for loopholes contrary to the good of Holyoke.
"One word about the disguised lawsuit threats from the Diocese. On Jan. 4, 2011, the U. S. District Court decision by Judge Michael A. Ponsor upheld the right of Our Lady of Hope Church to be in its Historic District in Springfield. The Diocese complaint was denied 'in its entirety."
"I want to acknowledge the other hard-working members of the Commission. Matt Chenier, Beth Strycharz, Sandy Parent, Wendy Weiss, and Peter Papineau deserve a vote of thanks. This Commission, appointed and confirmed, are a group volunteer workers for Holyoke. We have spent many long-hours researching, writing and complying with all the state and local standards of operation. We live here, we work here, we shop here and pay our taxes here. We all have a vested interest in the health of our city.
"What we found were many run down buildings, struggling businesses and a declining neighborhood due to reduced traffic flow, and lack of interest in the area. At first we were just looking at our surveys, and didn't think of any recommendations until we uncovered all the history of the area starting with Irish, French Canadian, and then Polish Immigrants, and saw the potential good for Holyoke in having a authentic downtown Historical District, an improved tax base with potential jobs. The Polish people of then Ward 4 settled heavily around the Mater Dolorosa Church using it as a hub in their living and working places. Some 62 businesses thrived until urban renewal came, and all the tenements were razed, and the surrounding commercial businesses withered. From the area grew Pulaski, Prospect Heights and condominiums. The Mater Dolorosa Church continues as a visual anchor even today.
"A number of historically non-significant properties were removed from the district, including a Shaker Building destined to be in the National Register by owners agreement. We met with the owner of the Mater Dolorosa Church, the new Bishop of Springfield, who did not want any church properties in an historical district or in the National Register. At one public hearing some participants requested removal of the School, rectory and social center. Since those structures were not now historically significant, the Commission removed them for now.
"We see the proposed Polish Heritage District as the beginning of a renovated Ward 1 with the unifying building being the Mater Dolorosa Church. All the residences and businesses and the church will qualify for federal and state grants for exterior improvements. Commission guidelines for all renovations are and will be liberal for property owners."
"We work for all the citizens of Holyoke regardless of race, ethnicity, or social standing. I look forward to all councilors voting approval of this 4 year marathon for the good of Holyoke.
"I am hopeful that those councilors who have been influenced by their membership in a Holyoke Church, and whom the Bishop has lobbied, will either have the COURAGE to vote for the district or recuse themselves with a clear conscience that they do so for the good of the City of Holyoke, not any special interest groups.
"There is a favorable Ordinance Committee report. Mayor Morse and three previous mayors supports the Polish Heritage District. With the help of other Holyoke government departments together we can solidify and rebuild our historic image into fact.
"When it's all said and done, this proposed project, with its many positive aspects, is good for Holyoke--for our businesses, our tax base and our integrity as a caring diverse community.
"Therefore, I call upon the council to adopt the Proposed Polish Heritage Local Historic District.
"Thank you."