SKOWHEGAN, Maine — The town has told a church that houses homeless people that its residents must move out immediately.
The cease and desist letter, dated Tuesday, marked the latest development in Skowhegan officials’ monthslong effort to get Shelters By Jesus, run out of the Trinity Evangelical Free Church at 12 McClellan St., to resolve numerous safety-related code violations.
The church building, one of two structures on the property used as shelters, remains in violation of national fire protection codes that require a supervised sprinkler system and a monitored fire alarm system, town attorney Kenneth Lexier wrote in the letter.
“All adults and children residing in the Church building on McClellan Street must be immediately removed from the Church building,” wrote Lexier, of the Skowhegan law firm Mills, Shay, Lexier & Talbot. “The Church building on McClellan Street shall not be used to house adults or children until the Church building is in compliance with the above reference codes.”
“If all adults and children are not immediately removed from the Church building,” Lexier continued, “the Church building will be condemned for use as a residential facility, hotel and dormitory.”
Reached via telephone Wednesday afternoon, the Rev. Richard Berry, the church’s pastor, referred questions to church Chair Ken Allen.
Allen, to whom Lexier addressed the cease-and-desist letter, did not answer phone calls Wednesday. A call to the shelter also went unanswered.
Donnie Zaluski, Skowhegan’s interim town manager, said the town decided to send the letter after giving the shelter time to try to address the code concerns and for the state to weigh in on a possible exemption for the required sprinkler system.
Gov. Janet Mills’ office declined the shelter’s request to give a 12- to 18-month extension for the sprinkler system installation due to safety concerns, according to a recent email from a Mills’ staffer that state Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, shared Wednesday on Facebook.
Staff for Mills, a Democrat, did not respond Wednesday afternoon to an inquiry regarding the email Poirier shared.
What Poirier shared indicated Mills’ office was working with the Maine State Housing Authority, Kennebec Behavioral Health and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to help relocate those affected.
The town previously suggested moving families who stay in the church building to the adjacent men’s shelter, which is code-compliant, and relocating the men, according to Zaluski. Whether the shelter follows through with that plan is up to its leaders, he said.
“We’ve given them options,” Zaluski said, “and we’re out of options now.”
The recent back-and-forth between the town and the shelter began when local and state officials found 27 code violations during an inspection on Dec. 23, 2025.
The inspection, which involved the Office of State Fire Marshal, was initiated in response to complaints that people were living in the church building, town records state. The town had also been working with the shelter in the months prior to address a bedbug problem.
The issues included nonfunctioning smoke detectors; a lack of fire alarm and sprinkler systems; improper venting for dryers; blocked egresses; exposed wiring; extension cords used in place of proper wiring; wood boiler system issues; out-of-date fire extinguishers; and improper exit signage.
The church was inspected under the provisions for occupancy as a “hotel” because of the number of people living there, fire inspectors wrote in a report. That was one of the violations, too — that the building is registered as an assembly space and never applied for change in occupancy.
Skowhegan Code Enforcement Officer Aaron Crocker issued a notice of violation in January, threatening financial penalties and possible closure if the issues were not addressed.
The shelter appealed the notice to the town zoning board of appeals, which upheld the violations. Allen’s main request was for more time to fix the offenses — but the board’s only authority was to determine whether town officials were correct in finding the violations during the inspection.
Allen, at the February hearing before the board, said his organization had addressed 21 of 27 of the violations.
Shelter leaders had developed a three-phase plan and were asking for a 180-day extension to execute the outstanding items, Allen said then. He also suggested if that were to be granted, the shelter would comply with temporary conditions such as an occupancy cap, and work with the town to schedule regular check-ins.
The only specific code violation Allen disputed related to the required sprinkler system, which he said may be “insurmountable” after consulting contractors. The shelter had a quote for building a new structure on its property if building the suppression system proved too challenging, Allen said at the hearing.
The organization later shared a rendering of the new building on Facebook, as well as an online fundraiser, which as of Wednesday appeared to have been taken down from the platform GoFundMe.
Berry, who has been pastor at the church since 1992, said previously he started offering shelter space on the property 18 years ago.
The men’s shelter next to the church was built in 2011. Berry said he started letting families stay in the church in the years after the men’s shelter opened.
The program has served thousands of people, he said, and some people have stayed there for months or years. The shelter, funded by donations to the religious organization, also runs a food pantry and serves meals.
Town records show several instances in which local code enforcement and the state fire marshal’s office have been involved with issues at the shelter, dating as far back as 2009.
“This has been an ongoing issue for years with this agency,” Skowhegan fire Chief Ryan Johnston wrote in his report on the December inspection. “At the last request, prior to my time here, the Fire Department was told by the Governor’s Office to stand down.”
A spokesperson for the state fire marshal’s office said earlier this year officials there were unaware of such a directive. Town officials, meanwhile, in response to a records request, did not locate any records confirming that ever happened.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Jake Freudberg can be reached at [email protected].
