Officials in the town of Niles had been planning a new town hall for 15 years. But the need became more painfully obvious recently when there weren't enough electrical outlets - or space - for their technology.
"We only have two rooms: one for the town clerk and a meeting room," said Niles Supervisor Dick DeWitt. "Now, there isn't room for anyone else in there but the computers."
In places like Niles and Montezuma, decades-old municipal office buildings don't have space to spare for additional employees, like bookkeepers, assessors and, yes, even supervisors. Officials are trying to find ways to compensate.
Niles decided to build a town hall adjacent to its current location on New Hope Road in Moravia. The nearly $500,000 building is up, but interior modifications on the 3,800 square feet of space still need to be made.
In the new building, there will be offices for the assessor, code enforcement officer, judges, town clerk, supervisor and a vault for the town's records. DeWitt hopes to have it operational by mid-spring.
It's a huge improvement from the old building. The limited space in the building wasn't insulated well, and the meeting room was too small.
"It's very small. We're very cramped for space," said Niles clerk Caroline Head. "We're just outgrowing it."
Fifteen years ago, officials not only realized the need for a new facility; they started putting away money to pay for it. The town has amassed more than $670,000 for the building, including a $25,000 grant from former state Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffmann.
And because it isn't being funded entirely by taxpayers, it has the community's support.
"Even people who aren't town residents but pay taxes felt it was long overdue," DeWitt said.
Officials in Montezuma also think a new hall is sorely needed. But they're not as far along as Niles. Supervisor Scott Saroodis said the board is still in the "talking phase" about the size and layout of a new building.
But at least they have running water and indoor plumbing.
Until 2000, Summerhill's town hall was a converted one-room schoolhouse, complete with the ambiance of a wooden stove ... but no bathrooms.
"It was rustic conditions, to say the least," said Summerhill Town Clerk Kathy Fuller.
The offices have since moved into another converted space, the former Country Kitchen Restaurant along Route 90. The town paid $125,000 for the building and removed some of the kitchen equipment for office space. Recordkeeping is much easier and more confidential now that there is a central location.
"It was a nightmare to try to keep track of records," Fuller said. "You'd get a shoebox full of papers when people would change positions."
The new town hall has accommodations for everyone that Niles plans to house, plus the town historian. It's also soon being established as a visitor center for tourists along Route 90.
In Ira, the impetus for change was different.
Former Town Clerk Marian Bramble used to work out of an office at the Cato Hardware Store, which Bramble and her husband owned. The timing of her retirement in January 2004 was just right. That's when the town hall officially moved into its new building on West Main Street in the village of Cato.
It wasn't hard to get residents on board for the $160,000 building purchase for a new hall, said Robert Eaton, former Ira supervisor who retired in January 2004. The cost was covered by unappropriated funds the town already had.
"We had the support of the majority of the town who could see a need," he said. "Obviously, the clerk can't be out on the streets. You need a place."
Centrally located in the village of Cato, it's also provided greater convenience for residents who now don't have to visit town officials at home to conduct business. "If you wanted to see the planning board, you would go to the chair's home. Or to see the supervisor, you'd go to his house," Eaton said.
And with many of the county's more rural communities seeing unprecedented growth, local officials need to be in closer contact with other leaders.
Being in the same building doesn't hurt to make that easier.
"We're moving away from the day when offices were decentralized," Eaton said. "I expect some of that seepage from urban to rural areas is creating a need on the part of other municipalities."
Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267
or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net
In places like Niles and Montezuma, decades-old municipal office buildings don't have space to spare for additional employees, like bookkeepers, assessors and, yes, even supervisors. Officials are trying to find ways to compensate.
Niles decided to build a town hall adjacent to its current location on New Hope Road in Moravia. The nearly $500,000 building is up, but interior modifications on the 3,800 square feet of space still need to be made.
In the new building, there will be offices for the assessor, code enforcement officer, judges, town clerk, supervisor and a vault for the town's records. DeWitt hopes to have it operational by mid-spring.
It's a huge improvement from the old building. The limited space in the building wasn't insulated well, and the meeting room was too small.
"It's very small. We're very cramped for space," said Niles clerk Caroline Head. "We're just outgrowing it."
Fifteen years ago, officials not only realized the need for a new facility; they started putting away money to pay for it. The town has amassed more than $670,000 for the building, including a $25,000 grant from former state Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffmann.
And because it isn't being funded entirely by taxpayers, it has the community's support.
"Even people who aren't town residents but pay taxes felt it was long overdue," DeWitt said.
Officials in Montezuma also think a new hall is sorely needed. But they're not as far along as Niles. Supervisor Scott Saroodis said the board is still in the "talking phase" about the size and layout of a new building.
But at least they have running water and indoor plumbing.
Until 2000, Summerhill's town hall was a converted one-room schoolhouse, complete with the ambiance of a wooden stove ... but no bathrooms.
"It was rustic conditions, to say the least," said Summerhill Town Clerk Kathy Fuller.
The offices have since moved into another converted space, the former Country Kitchen Restaurant along Route 90. The town paid $125,000 for the building and removed some of the kitchen equipment for office space. Recordkeeping is much easier and more confidential now that there is a central location.
"It was a nightmare to try to keep track of records," Fuller said. "You'd get a shoebox full of papers when people would change positions."
The new town hall has accommodations for everyone that Niles plans to house, plus the town historian. It's also soon being established as a visitor center for tourists along Route 90.
In Ira, the impetus for change was different.
Former Town Clerk Marian Bramble used to work out of an office at the Cato Hardware Store, which Bramble and her husband owned. The timing of her retirement in January 2004 was just right. That's when the town hall officially moved into its new building on West Main Street in the village of Cato.
It wasn't hard to get residents on board for the $160,000 building purchase for a new hall, said Robert Eaton, former Ira supervisor who retired in January 2004. The cost was covered by unappropriated funds the town already had.
"We had the support of the majority of the town who could see a need," he said. "Obviously, the clerk can't be out on the streets. You need a place."
Centrally located in the village of Cato, it's also provided greater convenience for residents who now don't have to visit town officials at home to conduct business. "If you wanted to see the planning board, you would go to the chair's home. Or to see the supervisor, you'd go to his house," Eaton said.
And with many of the county's more rural communities seeing unprecedented growth, local officials need to be in closer contact with other leaders.
Being in the same building doesn't hurt to make that easier.
"We're moving away from the day when offices were decentralized," Eaton said. "I expect some of that seepage from urban to rural areas is creating a need on the part of other municipalities."
Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267
or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net
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