The Dunning Street Rural Cemetery on Route 67 is full of historic graves and monuments, but there’s a question about how long the historic fence in front of it will remain.
All that stands in the way of preserving the fence in the heart of downtown Malta is money: $26,000, to be exact.
The Town Board this week asked preservationists to try to raise the funds, as it seeks to resolve a year-old dispute about the fence between the Dunning Street Rural Cemetery Association and the town’s Historic Preservation Review Commission.
The association wants to replace the black wrought-iron fence with a new chain-link steel fence, saying it can’t afford to restore the aging fence.
The Historic Preservation Review Commission, however, is saying the fence bordering one of the town’s oldest cemeteries needs to be preserved because of its historic value.
“It’s a beautiful piece of historic craftsmanship and it should be preserved,” commission Chairman Laura Moody said at a Town Board meeting this week.
But cemetery sexton Royal Arnold said the cemetery can’t afford that.
“Yes, it’s an interesting antique fence, but it took a beating with the widening of Route 67,” Arnold said, referring to a 2006 road construction project.
The estimated cost of replacing the fence with something modern is $20,000, while restoration of the iron fence would cost $46,000, according to price quotes the parties have obtained.
The commission’s recommendation could be binding, but the association has applied to the Town Board for a financial hardship variance, saying it can’t afford what’s being recommended.
After a hearing this week, the board voted to table the matter until June, to see if preservationists can raise the funds, as at least some of them have offered to do. It could then grant more time, though Town Supervisor Vincent DeLucia said the fence should be dealt with — either repaired or replaced — before next winter arrives.
The disagreement between preservationists and the cemetery first surfaced last year. After the commission voted for the higher-cost plan, preservationists at first hoped state grant money could cover the cost gap. The cemetery association’s state grant applications, however, were turned down.
Arnold said the cemetery only has $20,000 available, which includes $8,000 given to it over the last two years by the GlobalFoundries-Town of Malta Foundation. It also has a $10,000 bequest, and believes the other $2,000 is available. There’s some concern that the foundation money will be taken away if it isn’t used this year.
“We have no funding source to come up with the other $26,000,” Arnold said.
Town Board members encouraged the preservation commission members to help raise the money, as at least some of them have offered to do.
“You’ve got a huge task before you to raise a lot of money,” said town Councilman Craig Warner.
The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The cemetery was established about 1775. Some of Malta’s original settlers are buried there, including veterans of the American Revolution. It remains in active use.
The cemetery was always near the center of town, but in recent decades the area around it has grown into a commercial corridor that includes a shopping plaza, business park, and fast-food restaurants.
Historic commission member Kathy Eitzmann said the cemetery is the first thing people coming into town from Northway Exit 12 see that marks Malta as a distinctive and historic community.
Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 395-3086, [email protected] or @gazettesteve on Twitter.
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