GLOVERSVILLE - It's not the artful stained glass removed from the former First Methodist Church at 7 Elm St. nearly one year ago, but the Historic Preservation Review Board hopes a plan to apply adhesive window film to clear panes will make the nearly 143-year-old structure more marketable.
The board gave unanimous conceptual approval at its Thursday meeting to designs for the windows to replace the oriented strand board there now.
In December, retired City Court Judge Vincent DeSantis fined the building owner Church of God of Prophecy $60,000 - $12,000 for each facade and one for the steeple - after the stained-glass windows were removed without HPRB approval.
DeSantis said if the church fulfills the maintenance requirements and markets the building, it may petition the court to have the fine reduced or eliminated, though that does not guarantee the court would grant that request.
Kevin Richard of Steven E. Smith Engineering and Architecture of Gloversville presented the plan to the board on behalf of the Church of God of Prophecy.
The designs Richard brought, when applied to glass properly, last for several years in pristine condition, he said.
When the film in cut glass patterns is applied to glass, it resembles stained-glass windows and creates a similar effect when light shines through it.
A design featuring white doves amid cut-glass patterns, blue and green-diamond designs, and circular patterns are among the five different patterns to be applied to the windows in the front of the structure.
"I think we'd all agree it feels excellent," said outgoing Chairwoman of the board Karen Brown, of finally having an approval for a plan.
At the board's meeting, John Blackmon was voted the new chairman for the year, and Kevin Jones was voted the vice chairman.
"We have good cooperation from the church and collaboration on design," Brown said. "Hopefully, we'll have a more marketable building that's weather-tight."
The original windows - of which some still remain and will not be removed - were signed "Robert McCausland of Toronto, Canada."
McCausland lived from 1856 to 1923, and a company called Robert McCausland Limited still exists in Canada.
City Attorney Anthony Casale said in City Court in December that about $20,000 worth of the windows had been sold.
Richard said Fulton County Glassworks has experience with the window film, but the person at the company working on the project was not available for comment on pricing or application.
Decorative film also will be laid on glass inserts where the clock faces once adorned the steeple.
According to documents from the board, the clock faces, large windows around the sanctuary and the small upper windows on the north side will be fixed glass while the rest of the windows will be operational double-hung windows.
The board issued a "conditional certificate of appropriateness," in December, meaning the church is directed to "comply with conditions agreed to as stipulated by the HPRB Design Review Form."
Richard will return to the to the board at a future meeting to provide an exact count of windows in the back area of the structure.
He said he's not sure when work will start on replacing the windows.
Amanda Whistle covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com
