A joint history center for Scotia and Glenville? Officials aren't ruling it out

Officials from both municipalities said they are open to the idea of a combined history center in interviews this past week, though details on such a proposal would still need to be hammered out.

“I think it makes a lot of sense,” said Glenville Supervisor Chris Koetzle.

The idea of a joint history center comes as the town prepares to move forward with $100,000 in capital improvements this year at Yates Mansion, a historic property along Maple Avenue that officials have long planned to convert into a history and cultural center.

It also comes as Scotia trustees continue to weigh how to proceed with needed improvements at the Flint House, a former farmhouse that dates back to at least the 1820s and has been used as the village’s history center since the mid-1990s, when the property was deeded to the village under the condition it be maintained for public use.

While the Flint property is now home to a dog park and community garden, the structure has fallen into disrepair and is in need of extensive repairs and upgrades to bring the facility into compliance with current code that the village’s building inspector has estimated could cost as much as $700,000.

Some village lawmakers floated the idea of turning the aging building, which is not listed on any historic registry, into some type of community center, though whether those plans move forward is unclear.

Village trustees recently agreed to hold off on making a decision pertaining to the structure’s future until an operating budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year is adopted. Meanwhile, a group of volunteers are currently in the process of cataloging the various artifacts and historical documents in the building.

Scotia Mayor David Bucciferro said officials have not ruled out collaborating with the town of Glenville on a joint history center — an idea the mayor said has been discussed previously but never advanced because both municipalities had adequate facilities.

But with both history centers in need of upgrades, Bucciferro said it might be a good time to revisit the idea. He said he plans to bring the idea forward to village trustees next month.

“We’re not opposed to it, so we will reach out and talk to them,” Bucciferro said.

Glenville and Scotia share decades of history.

In fact, the two municipalities were one in the same until the village splintered off in 1904 — 83 years after Glenville was incorporated in 1821. 

Today, both municipalities continue to share services and officials from both communities have expressed a desire to bolster the relationship further moving forward.

“We are always open. We are always reaching out for that,” Koetzle said.

The town acquired the Yates Mansion property in 2017. A year later, the property was added to the state’s Registry of Historic Places, and the town has been working to secure funds to convert the 6,200-square-foot building into a history and cultural center.

Yates Mansion was constructed in 1734 by Joseph Yates, whose son Christopher and grandson Joseph were two prominent Schenectadians at their time. Christopher fought in the French and Indian War and was a quartermaster general during the American Revolution. His son Joseph became the first mayor of Schenectady in 1798 and went one to become the only Schenectady native to become governor of New York in 1822.

Once opened, Yates Mansion would replace the town’s former history center located inside a small home on a 4-acre property at 24 Glenridge Road. The structure on the property, which sits adjacent to the Glenville Library, has fallen into disrepair and is expected to be demolished later this year, Koetzle said.

The town’s historian, meanwhile, has been temporarily relocated, and the property is now being eyed as the potential new home of the Glenville Municipal Center, though a final decision has yet to be made.

Koetzle is hoping a decision on a future municipal center can be made by next month, meanwhile, is hoping an agreement with the village can be made moving forward.

“That, to me, would make a lot of sense — to bring everything together into Yates Mansion,” he said. “It’s big enough and we can provide community space and programming. We can provide history archiving space, so I’m hoping that’s where it goes.”