Hebron seeks grant funding to renovate Horton House

Hebron is applying for a grant to restore the Horton House.

Adjacent to the town office building, the Horton House is used as an annex, housing planning offices and officials.

The town is applying for a matching grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

“We’ll double what we have available,” said Michael O’Leary, town planner and member of the interim town manager team.

O’Leary said the town has already begun setting aside funding for repairs. The town is applying for $32,000.

“We’ll ask for the maximum amount and see where the bids come in,” O’Leary said.

Town officials have a list of repairs to be made, with roof replacement the most urgent.

If more funding is available, the town also plans on repairing the chimney, renovating the porch and exterior doors and making them handicapped-accessible, painting the building and performing some interior renovations.

Selectmen approved the application at a board meeting Oct. 15, but they were conflicted about the decision.

Selectman Mark Stuart said if funds were available, it was good that the town tried to avail itself of them but cautioned board members about continuing to spend dollars on aging buildings.

“You start putting monies aside and the building deteriorates while you are saving money, so when a (grant) opportunity like this comes along, you take advantage of it, ” Stuart said. “But, I’m not in favor of restoring any more historic buildings into offices.”

He said the reason for his concerns was older buildings were too costly to renovate and still couldn’t be made fully accessible without spending large amounts of money on items like elevators, which often destroy some of the home’s original characteristics.

Stuart said after the meeting he appreciated the value of historic buildings, but thought that grant monies would be better put to use toward maintaining roads and upgrading schools first.

He said after all other municipal and educational projects were complete, then the town could focus on restoring historical assets.

Selectmen Chairman Jeffrey Watt, however, said at the meeting that reusing historic buildings was an equally important effort for town officials.

“Preserving history is extremely important,” Watt said.

The vote on the grant application by the selectmen, despite the concerns raised, was made unanimously. The application must be submitted to the state by the end of the month.