SKOWHEGAN — Town officials Tuesday authorized legal action against a church-run homeless shelter in an attempt to compel it to address outstanding code violations.

The vote marks the latest escalation in the town’s monthslong effort to get Shelters By Jesus, housed within the Trinity Evangelical Free Church at 12 McClellan St., to rectify a laundry list of problems officials found during a December inspection. The violations stemmed from the shelter housing people in the church, adjacent to a separate men’s shelter that was not subject of the inspection.

The select board voted unanimously and with little discussion to authorize Bryan Belliveau, the town’s director of economic and community development, to bring the case to court. Nobody from the shelter was at the meeting.

According to state law, if the town succeeds in the legal action, a judge could order civil penalties of $100 to $5,000 per violation, which could be assessed on a per-day basis. A judge could also order the shelter to correct or abate the violations.

In a brief memo to the board, Belliveau, who also oversees code enforcement in his role, wrote that the “building continues to be used as an illegal dormitory” and “the life safety hazards identified at this location persist.”

Town attorney Kenneth Lexier sent the church a cease and desist letter last month, which indicated the town would condemn the building if Shelters By Jesus did not immediately move out all children and adults living in the church.

The letter from Lexier, of the Skowhegan law firm Mills, Shay, Lexier & Talbot, warned that the church could not house people until it complied with national fire protection codes that require a supervised sprinkler system and a monitored fire alarm system.

Shortly after, staff for Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, contacted local state legislators to inform them shelter Chairman Ken Allen had requested Mills to issue a 12- to 18-month extension on the deadline to comply with the code. He made that request before the cease and desist letter.

The governor’s office rejected that plea due to safety concerns, according to the letter, which Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, shared online and Mills’ office confirmed was accurate. 

“It’s also worth noting that the governor does not have authority to grant any extension,” Mills’ spokesperson Ben Goodman wrote in an email to the Morning Sentinel.

The recent faceoff between the town and the shelter began when local and state officials found 27 code violations during an inspection 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 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.

The shelter appealed the notice to the town Zoning Board of Appeals, which upheld the violations. Allen’s main request to that board was for more time to fix the problems — 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.

Pastor Richard Berry said at Monday night’s annual town meeting, during discussion on a new ordinance governing requirements for homeless shelters in town, that the church has fixed all but one, presumably referring to the sprinkler and alarm system.

In daily videos posted on social media, Berry has said his ministry is continuing to fundraise for a new code-compliant family shelter on the McClellan Street property, even with the new ordinance in place. The new building would complement the existing men’s shelter next to the church.

“I know their hope is that I’ll just throw my hands up and be discouraged, but that doesn’t work,” Berry said in a Tuesday morning video. “I get upset, but God’s in control, and we’re going to do whatever it is that has to be done. He’ll take care of it.”

Allen told the appeals board the church was exploring the idea of a new building after receiving prices for putting a sprinkler system in the church that were too costly.

Berry, who has led the church since 1992, said previously he started offering shelter space on the property 18 years ago.

The men’s shelter was built in 2011. Berry said he started letting families stay in the church in the years after that facility 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.