MONTEZUMA - The Montezuma town board passed a resolution last August to move forward with the town's planned 30-by-80 foot expansion to its current town hall.
But shortly thereafter, a petition with 37 names, brought in by former town supervisor John Giardina, put a halt to the town's plans, temporarily.
The petition forced a referendum to be held during general elections this November. Now, it will be up to the voters to decide on the expansion, with a maximum cost of $275,000.
On Thursday, the town held an informational meeting about the expansion, which was only sparsely attended.
Town highway superintendent Richard Smith, who is chair of the building committee, said he was disappointed by the turnout, especially since no one who signed the petition attended the meeting.
The proposed expansion, which will more than double the size of the current hall, which is 30-by-60 feet, will contain five offices, two bathrooms, a town clerk's office, a small kitchen and a large meeting and community room.
The current hall has one meeting room and one room for all town officials to use as an office.
Several town employees, like the zoning officer, town clerk and assessor, hold night hours on the same night, which Smith and other board members said not only creates cramped conditions but also leads to confidentiality issues.
When town assessor and water clerk Robert White needs to do some of his duties, he has to crawl under one of the desks to unplug the fax machine and the decal machine to free up electrical outlets.
Lack of functionality and confidentiality, Smith said, are two key reasons why the additional offices are necessary.
“The building was too small when it was completed and it's too small now,” he said.
Should the expansion go through, the new building will contain the town offices and meeting room and the old building will be used for court.
The current clerk's office, which is shared with other town officials, will be partitioned into two rooms to be used as a judge's chambers and a conference room for attorney's to meet with their clients, which Smith said is required by the state.
The expansion will not raise taxes, committee members said. The cost, up to $275,000, will be paid for with reserve money from CD accounts.
Neither Smith nor town clerk June Smith said they were concerned about the referendum passing this November, though all the committee members believed it would be prudent to post finalized building designs in buildings across the town when completed to educate voters about the project. The designs are being handled by Skaneateles architect Janice Miller.
The structure will be a pole barn, similar to the current structure, but may contain some decorative trim.
It will also have a concrete foundation for greater longevity.
When one man asked whether the structure would have automatic handicap doors to make it more accessible, Smith said it would not.
“We're getting up to date here, we're not supermarket size yet,” he said.
Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net
The petition forced a referendum to be held during general elections this November. Now, it will be up to the voters to decide on the expansion, with a maximum cost of $275,000.
On Thursday, the town held an informational meeting about the expansion, which was only sparsely attended.
Town highway superintendent Richard Smith, who is chair of the building committee, said he was disappointed by the turnout, especially since no one who signed the petition attended the meeting.
The proposed expansion, which will more than double the size of the current hall, which is 30-by-60 feet, will contain five offices, two bathrooms, a town clerk's office, a small kitchen and a large meeting and community room.
The current hall has one meeting room and one room for all town officials to use as an office.
Several town employees, like the zoning officer, town clerk and assessor, hold night hours on the same night, which Smith and other board members said not only creates cramped conditions but also leads to confidentiality issues.
When town assessor and water clerk Robert White needs to do some of his duties, he has to crawl under one of the desks to unplug the fax machine and the decal machine to free up electrical outlets.
Lack of functionality and confidentiality, Smith said, are two key reasons why the additional offices are necessary.
“The building was too small when it was completed and it's too small now,” he said.
Should the expansion go through, the new building will contain the town offices and meeting room and the old building will be used for court.
The current clerk's office, which is shared with other town officials, will be partitioned into two rooms to be used as a judge's chambers and a conference room for attorney's to meet with their clients, which Smith said is required by the state.
The expansion will not raise taxes, committee members said. The cost, up to $275,000, will be paid for with reserve money from CD accounts.
Neither Smith nor town clerk June Smith said they were concerned about the referendum passing this November, though all the committee members believed it would be prudent to post finalized building designs in buildings across the town when completed to educate voters about the project. The designs are being handled by Skaneateles architect Janice Miller.
The structure will be a pole barn, similar to the current structure, but may contain some decorative trim.
It will also have a concrete foundation for greater longevity.
When one man asked whether the structure would have automatic handicap doors to make it more accessible, Smith said it would not.
“We're getting up to date here, we're not supermarket size yet,” he said.
Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net
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