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In historic Winchester, the downtown area is a cornerstone for many.

During Tuesday’s Winchester City Commission meeting inside City Hall at 32 Wall Street, a conversation over its buildings emerged.

Several citizens spoke about concerns and the need for preservation, while the commissioners and others addressed the matter and considered what actions could take place.

An active resident and local historian, Harry Enoch addressed the commission first.

“We are facing the imminent demise of the building at 71 South Main Street and the possible demolition by neglect of others. Any additional loss of buildings on Main Street would create more unsightly gaps in the downtown facade. And, poorly maintained downtown structures endanger adjoining buildings that owners have invested millions to rehabilitate,” Enoch said, noting that the trend leads to businesses closing. “The potential loss of these buildings threatens the promising future of downtown. There is an urgent need to protect and preserve this vital part of Winchester’s historical, cultural, and economic heritage.”

Enoch also mentioned potential positives, such as nearly $7 million invested in purchasing these buildings that – in conjunction with repairing and repurposing the buildings – could lead to commercial activity, bringing businesses and customers downtown.

However, his concerns were shared by many in attendance.

Among them were Chuck Witt, Steve Justice, Roberta Newell – speaking on behalf of Laura Freeman, and Bill McCann – speaking on behalf of another Winchester resident.

While much was mentioned, two specific actions – conducting a structural assessment of each building in the historic district to identify those with serious maintenance issues and enacting new ordinances specifically designed to prevent demolition by neglect – were highlighted.

Adam Kidd, project administrator at DAM Holdings, advocated demolishing the 71 South Main Street building due to neglect in early December 2023.

While the measure was approved, the actual demolition has been delayed.

Kidd mentioned that he was encouraged to see others take action, yet also tried offering perspective.

“I’m lucky to have so many people that care about what we’re doing because we are out [to preserve] buildings. That’s what we do for a living. We don’t [seek to] tear buildings down. We have to hire somebody to do that,” Kidd said. “What is more important: historical preservation or building the future? It’s something we’ve been thinking a lot about in our business and what we want to do going forward, and where we steer our company…I think that to have a well-balanced community, we need to preserve our future, but we also need to embrace the responsibility that we have to build a bright future.”

Acknowledging that it was unfortunate to lose the building at 71 S. Main Street, Kidd stated that Winchester was in relatively better condition than other places he’d worked and offered to have the McEldowney Building be utilized for future study.

Addressing ordinance changes, Winchester Mayor JoEllen Reed asserted that the commission must take measures properly.

“We all love our downtown,” Reed said. “I appreciate all of your comments tonight, and I promise you that we will take all those comments under advisement.”

She asked city manager Mike Flynn to consult with city attorney William Dykeman to see what could legally be done regarding private property.

She sought clarification from Dykeman that – while the city can take some action regarding matters on the outside of the buildings – private property regulations dictate that the city can take no direct action to the inside of the properties,

Dykeman confirmed to the mayor that such was the case unless the interior posed an immediate danger.

Flynn mentioned other parties that could impact the situation.

“I think some of the hurdles that we’ve got to overcome is state jurisdiction versus city jurisdiction,” he said. “That’s one of the big elements that are there for us in the downtown. We’ve already had our fire marshal enter several of the buildings that we have jurisdiction over, and he’s been in contact with the state building inspector’s office as well about some of the buildings that are in question. Pushing state government to act as expeditiously as I try to act at the local level is a lot harder than one might think.”

Commissioner Shannon Cox stated that while a person could not be forced to rent or prevented from renting to someone else, there might be alternative options in cases where housing is most relevant.

“You can provide an incentive there to get them to put somebody in the property,” Coxs said. “I think that’s about as far as you can legally go.”

City Commissioners Kitty Strode and Hannah Toole both said that they were also curious as to what legal means could be used to help maintain buildings, with Strode adding it was unfair to those who had invested downtown.

While this matter figures to be discussed further, Mayor Reed expressed gratitude for those present.

“[To] those of you that spoke tonight, thank you for being good folks and coming in and expressing your opinions and thoughts,” Reed said. “We thank you very much.”