West Dundee, church headed back to trial court over parsonage

A case surrounding the fate of a West Dundee church's historic but decaying parsonage is headed back to trial court after an appellate judge reversed an order requiring the structure to be repaired.

The battle between West Dundee and First United Methodist Church over the 168-year-old home at 310 W. Main St. has been going on for years. While the church wants to raze the building to create additional parking, the village is fighting to preserve the parsonage and maintain its historical significance.

Tom Sullivan, the church's attorney, said he hopes village leaders will see the most recent court action as reason to "end the fight" and allow the building to be torn down.

Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said village attorneys have put together a memorandum of options, which will be discussed by the village board in closed session Monday night.

"The four options would be: appeal to the supreme court, retrial, dismiss the case, or continue our settlement discussions with the church," he said Friday. "The board's going to have a conversation about the options and probably give us some direction. No matter what, it is going to be resolved at the court level."

The parsonage, which dates back to 1849 and is one of the oldest homes in the village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The church bought it in 1954 and used it as a parsonage until 2004, when it was vacated because of its deteriorating condition, Sullivan said.

The village board in 2007 shot down the church's request to demolish the building and, several years later, issued an order of correction for 14 code violations, according to court documents. Church leaders were given 45 days to make the necessary improvements, which included repairing the roof, floors, support posts, windows and more. When they didn't comply, the village sought a court order to oversee the restoration of the parsonage and place a lien on the church for repair costs.

The church's countercomplaint, which argued such costs would be "financially devastating" for the congregation, was dismissed in Kane County circuit court, documents show. Justice Susan Hutchinson last week, however, determined the countercomplaint should not have been dismissed, thus vacating the judgment requiring the parsonage to be restored.

The appellate court opinion states it's now up to the trial court to determine whether demolition or repair is the best move for the parsonage.

"The village cannot bully a church, particularly one having a small congregation of roughly 100 families, into creating a historical marker at a cost far exceeding the building's value," Sullivan said.

The village board's regular meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday at village hall, 102 S. Second St.

• Daily Herald staff writer Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this story.