A settlement from the church’s insurance company ends a five-year journey to secure funding to repair the condemned roof of The First United Methodist Church of Hightstown.
By: David Pescatore
HIGHTSTOWN The First United Methodist Church of Hightstown received a $550,000 settlement last week, bringing a close to a five-year struggle to repair the century-old church’s roof.
Built in 1898, the church was declared "unsafe for human occupancy" in 1999 when roof supports were found to be in "imminent danger of collapse" while research was being done for an expansion plan.
More surprising than the condition of the two 60-foot wooden roof supports was that the church’s insurer, American Employers’ Insurance Co., based in Boston, denied the church’s claim on the basis that the roof had not actually collapsed.
"The most shocking aspect of the insurance company’s case is their assertion that in order to pay a claim, the church had to literally collapse… rather than just be legally condemned for imminent danger of collapse," said Seth J. Lapidow, partner in the Princeton law firm Pellettieri, Rabstein & Altman, who represented the church.
According to Mr. Lapidow, state Superior Court Judge Andrew J. Smithson last year "rightly ruled that the church reasonably could expect to be covered by their policy if the structure is condemned by borough officials due to imminent danger."
After nearly one year of negotiations, the $550,000 settlement was reached.
"God has been very gracious," said the Rev. Neill Tolboom. "Now, we’re looking to start rebuilding the church. We want to bring it back to last another 100 years."
According to the Rev. Tolboom, work will begin this month to repair roof leaks. Then, the support trusses will be fixed, followed by the foundation and walls.
If the funds are available, the Rev. Tolboom said, he would like to expand the church as well, extending the rear of the building 30 feet. He said that the total cost of the project was "still up in the air," but could fall between $1.5 million and $1.9 million.
In addition to the settlement, the congregation has pledged another $250,000 through the NUTS (Need U To Step-up) fund-raising campaign. The Rev. Tolboom said that about half of the pledges have been collected so far.
The drive started about a year-and-a-half ago. Church officials took to the nut theme, filling up the sanctuary with jars of peanuts, wearing nutshells as pins and even constructing a 6-foot card board peanut by which the minister preached every Sunday.
"It was a way to raise money and add humor to the situation," the Rev. Tolboom said.
He said that an overabundance of legumes and the notion that one would have to be nuts to attempt to raise a quarter-million dollars led to the theme.
"The community has been wonderful," the pastor said, adding that he also would be seeking grants based on the church’s historical value.
The congregation was displaced for 18 months following the 1999 condemnation, meeting in First United’s sanctuary (which was not condemned), other churches and a Masonic lodge until steel supports could be erected to offer temporary support to the church’s weakened roof. The Rev. Tolboom said that the congregation is back in its home at 187 Stockton St., drawing an average of 140 worshipers to Sunday service, but the building is still about 60 percent uninhabitable.
"The second floor is still condemned," the pastor said. "We are working with (borough Construction Official) Harry Wetterskog to make sure it is safe."
The Rev. Tolboom said that he is ready to move on after the lawsuit, thanking the community and the church’s attorneys, who "have become family."
"As a church, we have to answer to a higher standard," the pastor said. "We had to make sure that the church was not rebuilt with money gained through less-than-moral standards."
Representatives from American Employers’ Insurance Co. declined to comment on the settlement.