THETFORD — Selectboard member Li Shen was among those who voted for the town to accept the donation of the Timothy Frost Methodist Church in October 2018.

The building sits on a little less than half an acre on Route 113 next to the town hall.

“My thinking was the town needs to control that piece of land or there’s nowhere to expand, and we’re running out of space in town hall,” she said in a recent phone interview.

But, six years after the town took ownership of the Timothy Frost building, it remains unused and deteriorating because town officials and residents don’t know what to do with it.

With rising taxes, residents and Selectboard members are having second thoughts about spending tax dollars on restoring the building, which needs major repairs. At a Dec. 2 meeting, the Selectboard engaged in a long, and at times heated, discussion about whether to allocate roughly $170,000 of surplus funds to the restoration of the Timothy Frost building.

“I view the Timothy Frost Building as historically and architecturally significant,” Town Manager Brian Story said, according to the meeting minutes. “It’s a wonderful building, but I fear it’s a financial black hole.”

The congregation donated the Timothy Frost building to the town because of its appearance and location, said the Rev. Brigid Farrell, the church’s pastor. Constructed in 1836, the Timothy Frost building is a Gothic Revival-style church made of brick and has a granite foundation and a shingle roof. It looks very similar to town hall and is included in the designated Thetford Center Historic District.

“The church is a little disappointed,” Farrell said in a phone interview of the town’s lack of action on the building. “They hoped it would be used for something community oriented. They would rather have it used than sitting empty.”

After spending over a decade taking care of two churches — the Timothy Frost building and the North Thetford Federated Church on Route 5 near the North Thetford Post Office — the congregation decided to give up both buildings in order to focus on its ministry and mission instead of the upkeep of the buildings.

The congregation donated the church in North Thetford to the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. The building is now called the New Suns Community Center, and the congregation still worships there.

When the town first acquired the Timothy Frost building, the Selectboard created a committee to manage the decision-making work.

The committee conducted a survey, which was open from November 2019 to January 2020, and collected a little over 400 responses. The survey indicated community members favored using the church as a multi-use gathering and performance space.

But, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the committee dissolved and the building fell toward the bottom of the town’s list of priorities.

Last January, the West Lebanon-based Trumbull-Nelson Construction Company estimated it will cost over $671,000 just to stabilize the Timothy Frost building which includes securing the foundation, preventing leaks, and installing plumming and a bathroom.

Since no decisions have been made about what the building would be used for, it is unknown how much it could cost to make it fully functional. Story said he wouldn’t be surprised if it surpassed $1 million.

No assessment or appraisal of the building was done before the board voted to acquire it.

The board decided at the Dec. 2 meeting to keep the dollars in the town’s general fund, and carry the surplus into the new year. The funds will ideally be allocated during Town Meeting, Story said in a phone interview.

During a Dec. 16 meeting, Selectboard Chairwoman Sharon Harkay listed four options for the building: restore it, sell it, demolish it, or continue to let it sit idle.

Demolishing the building would be “heartbreaking” to resident Shari Gouwens who chaired the Timothy Frost committee when it existed. Along with the memories of the weddings, funerals, and church services, the building contains a memorial stained glass window for longtime former pastor Bertha Brown.

“I just want to emphasize that any decisions we make need to include the tax implications,” resident Carole Petrillo said during the Dec. 16 meeting, according to the minutes. “People don’t want to take on more tax burdens right now.”

Petrillo is not alone in this sentiment. Melissa Krzal has lived in Thetford for more than 36 years and is outspoken in the Listserv about her concerns over spending tax dollars on the renovations.

“The taxes are going to run people out of town,” Krzal said in a phone interview. “Can we really afford to put one or two million in this building?”

Krzal pointed out that Thetford already has spaces to accommodate many of the suggested uses for the building. The town has a community center and other churches for gathering, and the Martha Jane Rich Theater at Thetford Academy and Parish Players’ theater for performances.

“What’s the point of putting money into this if we don’t really need it?” Krzal said.

Other funding options such as grants are hard to come by without a plan for the building.

“There are many competing ideas here and no clear consensus about anything,” Shen said, “We’re not going to get any money unless we come out with a clear use.”

The board decided at the Dec. 16 meeting to create a new survey to get input from the community now that they have information about the cost of repairs.

Harkay’s drafting the survey and said she anticipates the draft will be ready for the board to discuss by its Jan. 20 meeting. She plans to include questions about what the town should do with the building and how it should be funded.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.