The Montgomery town board granted the Bruderhof community permission to demolish the Milliken Farmhouse at a meeting on June 6, overriding the Town of Montgomery Historic Preservation Commission’s (HPC) decision to deny demolition of the house.

Dominic Cordisco, partner with Drake Loeb PLLC, said the house is in decrepit condition and it would be prohibitively expensive to restore it to its former self.

“It’s far too expensive to restore it to any meaningful purpose at this time,” Cordisco said.

In a letter to the town board, Foxhill Communities President Hans Boller said the Bruderhof hosted multiple tours with town historian John Pennings, town officials and town supervisor Rodney Winchell, who appeared to have a general consensus that the building is beyond repair and should be taken down.

Both town engineer Mike Aiello, Jr. and Pennings concluded the original historical elements of the building have been destroyed by neglect and the subdivision of the house into apartments. Aiello warned of potential liability due to vandalism and squatters in the house.

Located at 18 Coleman Road, the house was placed on the local historic register in 2006, which means any demolition or modification to the house requires approval of a certificate of appropriateness (COA) from the commission.

The Bruderhof requested permission for demolition in August 2018. The HPC denied the Bruderhof’s application for a COA to demolish the house in a meeting on April 28.

Commission chair Mary Ellen Matise said the commission had very little to go off for a structural assessment at the time of the decision, and town building inspector Walter Schmidt determined the house was not in danger of collapse in an assessment in August of 2018.

In the absence of a structural assessment, Matise said the commission had to follow its mission statement, which is, “to protect, enhance and perpetuate our heritage so as to ensure the quality of life in the Town of Montgomery for present and future generations.”

HPC member Susan Cockburn protested the board’s decision to grant permission for demolition, stating the lack of historical value in the structure of the house is not a justification for demolition.

“The content and interior of the house is not what makes it historic,” Cockburn said. “What makes it historic is the fact that this house lost two sons on the same day in the battle of Fort Montgomery in the Revolutionary War.”

Cockburn said the Bruderhof has the option to apply for grants for rehabilitation of the house. She is also concerned about the precedent the board is setting by overturning a decision made by the HPC.

Boller said the Bruderhof would erect a sign recognizing the former residents and their historical importance to the Town of Montgomery, as well as make the few historical remnants left in the house available to the HPC.