Community Matters

TOWN HALL – RENOVATE OR RELOCATE?

Now that construction has begun on the new Town Garage, Aftonites continue discussing what to do about a Town Hall and Town Court. After Afton voters turned down a proposal in February 2012 to build a new Town Hall and Town Court attached to a new Town Garage, it left the future of the town offices in limbo. 

MAJORITY OF TOWN BOARD WANTS TO MOVE

The majority of the Town Board want to pair re-situating the Town Court with moving the

 town offices out of the existing Town Hall. As of this writing (mid-January 2013), there have been a number of possibilities explored that did not work out because of cost. Two solutions being considered now are renting space at the old IVCI site on Back River Road or carving out some space in the existing Town Garage on the same property that the new garage is being built.

CONDITION OF THE CURRENT TOWN HALL

Although Town Supervisor John Lawrence agrees that the building has not been well-maintained and stated that there has been no line item to pay for maintenance, he does not want to spend money on the Town Hall until after the new garage project is completed. Yet the building committee still continues the search for alternate places to rent or build.

MOLD PROBLEM

Some members of the Town Board contend that there is a mold problem in the existing Town Hall. In November 2012, they requested that a NYS Department of Labor Safety and Health Inspector/industrial hygienist inspect the building “to assess the potential for mold growth and to look for evidence of mold growth” in the building. He determined that there is no mold problem.  Like many buildings from that era, the floor in the basement is packed earth and is damp throughout. His report states, “Remarkably, there is no evidence of active mold growth on the first or second floor,” although there is high humidity throughout the building.  The inspector also said that “control of moisture in the building is key to improving the quality of the space,” and suggested various reasonably-priced means to address the problem. 

RECOMMENDATION TO PRESERVE AND CONTINUE USE OF THE PRESENT TOWN HALL

Preserving the existing Town Hall on Main Street in the village has been resisted by the majority of the Town Board. On one hand we are told that the building is in sorry shape and can’t affordably be updated. On the other hand, it is suggested that we sell the Town Hall to a private buyer, possibly to be used as a business or storefront. No effort has been made to have the building assessed in its present condition. It makes little sense that someone else would want to purchase a building that is being described as not worth renovating.

The Afton Vision Group believes that the Town Hall has been sorely neglected and the preservation and upkeep of this historic building should be a priority. The group has organized meetings with consultants and offered volunteer help. Some small steps have been made based on the group’s suggestions. The Town Board did hire a worker to fix the broken chimney and installed a carbon monoxide detector – both simple improvements addressing serious health and safety hazards.

Preserving the Town Hall enriches the downtown community and lessens the additional costs that building or renting another space would require. There are sufficient town funds to make some additional basic improvements in the building – especially ones suggested by the Health Inspector to mitigate humidity problems. If the Town Hall offices are moved out of this Main Street location, the building will continue to deteriorate; an empty building will become an eyesore.

It is now time to take the next steps to create a better, more useable space in our current Town Hall. Qualified community volunteers are ready to assist with the installation of a handicapped-accessible bathroom and the painting of the interior walls.

We ask the Town Board to commit to a plan of renovations of the existing Town Hall with a detailed list of the projects that need to done and allocating monies (available in the reserve-fund) to cover the costs. Ultimately, the maintenance of the building is in the town’s best interests financially and otherwise. 

This article from Pages 1-2, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision