ORANGE — The Selectboard this week settled an outgoing member’s grievance about Armory Commission members being unable to access the brick building they have been tasked with maintaining and protecting.

Richard Sheridan has vowed to save the 111-year-old structure from demolition, arguing it is structurally sound and salvageable. But in one of his final acts as a Selectboard member, Sheridan voiced his disappointment that members of the recently formed five-member commission are locked out of the building at 135 East Main St. In response to his complaint, the Selectboard voted 3-2 to authorize Town Administrator Matthew Fortier to coordinate with volunteer Henry Oertel to open the Orange Armory at the request of any commissioner.

“The situation with the Armory, to me, bordered on ridiculous before. Now it’s not bordering on it,” Sheridan said at the start of his comments on Wednesday. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that an Armory Commission member cannot access the Armory. ... And I don’t know where the authority to keep the Armory Commission members out of the Armory came from. We didn’t take any vote here to do that. We didn’t take any vote here to exclude the Armory Commission from doing anything.”

Sheridan joined Selectboard Vice Chair Andrew Smith and member Jane Peirce in voting for the motion. Chair Tom Smith and Clerk Pat Lussier voted against it.

Sheridan explained one Armory Commission member, Arthur Will, is a mechanical engineer and offered to inspect the Armory’s heating system and leaking oil tank to determine the situation’s severity. The structure built in 1913 has fallen into disrepair and the Selectboard voted in October 2021 to close it, temporarily relocate the municipal offices that were based there, and work out a lease to operate out of the rectory of the former Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, which a handful of years ago gave its facilities to Mission Covenant Church for social and faith-based activities. However, Sheridan explained, Will was unable to get into the Armory, which Sheridan said is not condemned.

“If this board is going to decide not to let anyone from the Armory Commission go into that building, it’s my last night here, but it’s not my last day on the Armory Commission — I’ll be back,” he said. The longtime public servant has opted not to seek reelection to his Selectboard position in Monday’s town election.

Sheridan said he used to have a key to the Armory, but the building’s locks have since been changed. Fortier confirmed the locks were changed because officials were unsure who had keys to the unsafe and unoccupied structure.

“We didn’t want anybody in the building unless they absolutely had to be in the building,” he said.

Fortier said Oertel has an Armory key and has been watching over the structure — and Town Hall — for years.

“The Armory is closed, yes, but not everything is shut off,” Oertel told the Selectboard.

He explained that he handles the mechanical work at the Armory and has established a functional but delicate sump pump system he does not want disturbed. He said the basement floor is slippery — the basement suffers from water damage and mold — and he has arranged blocks to walk on because he has “taken a few slips and slides and destroyed my clothes.” He said there has been as much as 2 feet of water in the basement.

But Lussier argued the building is closed and “there is no reason to parade anybody through there.” She noted the town will be liable for any injury that occurs in the building.

“You’re taking your life in your hands,” she said about the basement.

According to Preservation Massachusetts Inc., a statewide historic preservation education and advocacy organization, in 2022 the Armory was named one of Massachusetts’ Most Endangered Historic Resources. The Armory building was dedicated in 1913 as a home for Company E, 2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, which served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. In 1975, ownership of the building was transferred to the town, which continues to use the parking lot for a farmers market.

Happy trails

Before adjourning, Selectboard members acknowledged Sheridan’s final meeting and thanked him for his decades of service to Orange. Peirce said combined, the two of them have roughly 100 years of municipal experience on town boards and committees.

Peirce mentioned the public perception that she and Sheridan dislike each other, but said nothing could be further from the truth. She said their disagreements, which on occasion have become heated, are merely the result of their differing opinions on what is best for the town they call home.

“I think that the two of us have done some really good work over the years,” she said. “The fact is, as a human being, the guy has a heart of gold and he is probably one of the kindest and most caring individuals you will ever find in this town or anywhere else. When we argue, when I don’t agree with him, it’s because we differ philosophically in our ideas about policy and political philosophy and everything else, but I truly love the guy.

“And I will miss having you here,” she said, turning to Sheridan, “just so I can prove you wrong over and over again as I so often do.”

Tom Smith, Andrew Smith and Lussier all thanked Sheridan for his service and said they’ve learned a lot from him.

Polls at 62 Cheney St. will be open on Monday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the election. Contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 978-544-1100, ext. 2, with any questions.

Reach Domenic Poli at dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.