Other experts willing to evaluate Presbyterian Church

The city's economic redevelopment authority has gathered a group of structural specialists to help determine the condition of the First Presbyterian Church building. That is, if the church officials are amenable to the idea.

Supervisor Robin Williamson, chairwoman of the authority, and Joe McCarthy, the city's economic development and redevelopment manager, announced this during the Historic Resources Commission meeting on Thursday.

It's something facing St. Peter's Episcopal Church and First United Methodist Church, both of which are situated near First Presbyterian. All three were built within a few years of each other and rest only blocks apart within the city's historic district, Williamson said.

"Let's work together," she emphasized.

Calling historic preservation "a sound investment" within the city's downtown redevelopment area, McCarthy said the authority would pay for the consultation services of three well-known structural specialists regarding the condition of the church and what restoration options might be most feasible. They are:

-- Paul Ferrari, Ferrari Shields and Associates, structural and civil engineering, in Reno, who worked on the restoration of the Riverside Hotel in Reno and St. Mary's in the Mountains Church in Virginia City.

-- Melvyn Green, of Melvyn Green and Associates, a structural engineering business in Torrance, Calif., who worked on preservation projects at Jack's Bar, the U.S. Mint building and the Brewery Arts Center.

-- Peter Wilday, a well known Reno architect, who has worked on an array of hotel and resort projects.

"It could give us a blueprint for other projects," McCarthy said.

Church officials were surprised at the announcement, and proceeded to defend their consultants: Roger Hyytinen, Hyytinen Engineering, who did the structural design for the seismic retrofit and remodel of the historic UNR Frandsen Humanities Building, and Shaheen-Beauchamp Builders, who have done rehabilitation projects on the Eureka and Churchill County courthouses.

"My initial feeling: It's a little bit of a slap in the face," said Ken Pearson, chairman of the church's building committee. "You're starting to get into a pissing match here. We want a spirit of cooperation, but you make it tough when you do that."

"They want to help, not to be disrespectful," said Michael Drews, chairman of the commission. "The more experts we can get in on this, the better it can be."

Estimates for rehabilitating the historic church building have ranged from $2.1 million to $5 million. The church wants to spend no more than $1.7 million, and would prefer a new structure with small elements of the old one, such as its stained glass windows and some of the original bricks.

The structure, located at 110 N. Nevada St., was originally constructed in 1864 with financial help from Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. His brother, Orion Clemens, was a practicing Presbyterian. Proceeds from Twain's first paid speech were used to complete the church, which had stood unfinished for two years because the congregation couldn't afford to finish the work, according to Guy Rocha, Nevada state archivist.

It is one of three buildings still standing in Nevada that have ties to Twain: The other two are Orion Clemens' house, also in Carson City, and the JohnD Winters ranch in Washoe Valley, Rocha said.

Its original section is the oldest church structure in Nevada, too, according to Rocha.

The commission normally schedules its meetings on the second Thursday of the month. Their next regular meeting will be March 9, and this is when the church's consultants are scheduled to provide their reports on the condition of the building.

The church's building committee still has to decide whether they want to allow the city to pay for more experts to look at the building, said Rev. Bruce Kochsmeier, senior pastor of First Presbyterian.

-- Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.