Apparently, the fourth time is the charm for the Church of the
Ascension.

At Tuesday’s meeting of Bradford City Council, four councilmen
voted to allow the church to demolish the apartment building
adjacent to the church on Chautauqua Place. Tom Shay, Tom Riel, Bob
Onuffer and Dan Costello voted to allow the demolition, while Mayor
Michele Corignani voted no.

“I truly believe (the Historic Architectural Review Board) made
the correct decision under the letter of the law and council did
not,” Corignani said, adding that council will have to face the
consequences.

Members of the Church of the Ascension and Bob Costello of
neighboring Emery Towers had been arguing before the Historic
Architectural Review Board and city council since October in an
attempt to get an apartment building adjacent to the church
demolished.

HARB voted in October to approve the demolition when it was
being sought by Crossgate Management, the managing company for
Emery Towers; council rejected HARB’s recommendation.

Several members of HARB subsequently resigned over the issue.
New members of HARB were impaneled. The Church of the Ascension
sought the demolition permit before HARB earlier this month and was
denied.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, a denial of a Certificate of
Appropriateness for the demolition of the building was listed on
the agenda. Prior to the vote, several members of the church had
questions for council.

“If you deny the denial, does that mean we’re approved?” asked
Debbie Cavagnaro, senior warden for the church. Another church
member explained the wording of the agenda was confusing.

Corignani explained that council would either approve or reject
HARB’s recommendation, but if it was rejected, that did not mean
their permit was automatically approved.

“Can that be done at this meeting?” Cavagnaro asked.

“Yes,” Riel responded quickly. Solicitor Mark Hollenbeck
explained another resolution would have to be proposed and voted
on, but it could be done at the meeting.

A lengthy discussion followed about the apartment building, the
city’s historic district and past actions of the HARB. Members of
the church referred to a presentation made by Michel Lefevre, chief
of the Bureau of Historic Preservation for the Pennsylvania
Historic and Museum Commission, in January.

Cavagnaro pointed out that Lefevre was in favor of
consistency.

“I don’t understand how you can let other churches take property
down, but not us,” Tremaine said.

Cavagnaro brought up the St. Bernard’s convent, which was
demolished during the Tops Market expansion, as an example. She
also mentioned the Star Garage, the Parker building, the McKean
Theater and part of the Pennzoil building as having been demolished
to make way for parking.

Tremaine said the matter was getting frustrating, as he kept
having to defend something that made sense. “Let’s use common sense
.. I know we’re not supposed to.”

His comment drew laughter from members of the audience and a few
councilmen.

“I can’t allow my personal feelings to enter into this,”
Corignani said, explaining her job as mayor is to enforce the
laws.

“We are in jeopardy of losing our designation (on the National
Register of Historic Places) is we continue taking down buildings
in the historic district,” said Main Street Manager Diane DeWalt,
who is also a HARB member. She added that the historic buildings
that have been demolished have been because of a larger
construction project, such as the Tops expansion.

“The convent was not in any way, shape or form part of Tops,”
Cavagnaro argued. “It’s just a parking lot for the church. They did
not need the convent.”

Bob Costello made the point to council that the historic
district has almost become an impediment to progress in the
city.

“The historical designation has become all inclusive,” he said.
“It’s almost trapped us in a no-win situation.”

It’s become increasingly difficult to make improvements in the
downtown because of all the regulations, he said.

“Why can’t we benefit the elderly by getting rid of this
building?” he asked, adding the lot would be used for parking for
Emery Towers. “I understand the want to preserve something, but
it’s become historically obsolete.”

After several more minutes of debating the historic district and
the apartment, Councilman Dan Costello stopped the discussion.

“We’ve more or less exhausted the subject here,” he said. “We
all agree the historic district is something positive for downtown
Bradford and sometimes you do have to use common sense.”

After council voted on the resolution to deny the demolition
permit, Hollenbeck said he had prepared an alternate resolution to
approve the demolition. Riel introduced the resolution, Onuffer
seconded the motion. Shay, Onuffer, Costello and Riel voted yes;
Corignani voted no.

There was quiet applause from the members of the church in the
crowd. Many left the meeting at that time, smiling and shaking each
other’s hands.

Cavagnaro, Tremaine and Sharon Daggett remained until the end of
the meeting, and thanked the councilmen as they left for using
“common sense.”

Tremaine said the first thing he would do is turn off the gas
and water service to the apartment building, as the church cannot
afford to continue making the payments.