Mars Borough accepts quote for church renovation
MARS — The former site of Dutilh United Methodist Church has a new lease on life.
At its meeting Monday night, Feb. 19, Mars Borough Council unanimously accepted a quote from You Name It Contracting in Butler, who recently submitted a bid of $10,500 to make fundamental repairs to the century-old church building at the corner of Pittsburgh Street and Lincoln Avenue.
This bid was far cheaper than the two other bids the borough received for the church building repairs, which came in at $12,900 and $20,870. You Name It’s bid also comes with an insurance check of more than $9,000.
The borough’s decision to go with You Name It’s bid spared the church’s bell tower from being torn down, as the more expensive of the two competing bids suggested.
Instead, the renovations will consist of replacing roof shingles, rerouting gutters to direct water from the building, replacing the louvers on the bell tower windows, and possibly removing the bell from the tower.
According to council member John McWilliams, the borough still has not decided what to do with the bell after the renovations.
The borough has owned the former church property since November 2019, when it purchased the building from the Dutilh United Methodist Church for $325,000, along with the church’s two parking lots and education center. Prior to then, the property at 525 Pittsburgh St. was most recently used by Dutilh as an auxiliary campus to its main church in Cranberry Township.
While that main campus in Cranberry is still open, the Mars church closed in April 2018, according to records from the Western Pennsylvania branch of the United Methodist Church.
While the borough has held discussions with various parties over potential future uses for the building -- including turning it into a community center -- Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung said nothing can be done with the property until the renovations are complete.
