Dear Editor:

Concerning the Kenniston Inn, I was the site manager for the building back in 2014, when Susan Brackett spearheaded the campaign to move the building. That was accomplished with great fanfare The good people of Boothbay raised $90,000 to move the building, including the center chimney with its six fireplaces. The pandemic, unfortunately, resulted in the sale of the property by the Lincoln County Elder Network.

The Inn, as you know, is now for sale again on its own parcel of land. Water, sewer and power have yet to be brought into the building.

I'm intimately familiar with the building. It was in my family for 30 years. That, and the fact that it's such a venerable (circa 1797) and important landmark has caused me to focus again on its future.

I would like to offer my expertise, carpentry skills and tools to the next owner, free of charge for at least three months. My first order of business would be to patch the many leaks in the roof and clean up the fallen ceiling plaster on the second floor. I would do this, including the cost of materials, at no cost to the new owner. This could be accomplished in a long weekend.

At this point in time I see no particular structural damage. The upstairs floors are still able to be restored. The timber framing in the attic is still sound. The center of the building, which contains the crown jewels in the form of the six fireplaces which, in some cases, have original woodwork from 1800, is unaffected by the leaks.

The perimeter walls would, ultimately, be opened up to allow for new wiring and insulation.

All the new systems, and windows, that would be needed in a new house would be needed here as well. The existing equity, due to the irreplaceable masonry, woodwork, stairway, built-in China closet, etc., makes the current asking price seem like a terrific value. I'm not daunted in the least by what I see.

In addition, there are new, pressure treated 8’ x 8’ sills around the entire perimeter. It's proudly sitting on a full concrete foundation. That is seldom the case with a 225-year-old building.

Steven S. Teel

Portland