Another site has been proposed for the new town and village offices, but the officials who may make the final decision are not overly eager to pursue it.
The latest option was pitched by Dick Emerson, the owner of The Line Townhouses in Whitehall.
“I talked with Fra (Putorti), Vern (Scribner) George Armstrong and Sally Raino about this,” said Emerson, who currently has leases out on three of the eight townhouses in the development that started in 2008. “My basic thought is that they could take one or two of the units, put an elevator in, which is perfectly do-able, and I propose that they could put the town, village and court offices in the units.”
Emerson said with the setup of the townhouses, the municipalities would be able to use the ground floor for a public meeting area and courtrooms while the second story could be used as offices and a conference center.
“I think that this is an alternative,” said Emerson. “It is on
Main Street
and within walking distance. You would have a nice, new, presentable town hall. I would give them a price that would be a substantial discount, and I think that this works economically. I think that this has something going for it.”
Mayor Francis “Fra” Putorti said there are a number of possibilities out there.
“We have a number of different locations in the village,” said Putorti. “You have the Skenesborough Volunteer Fire Company, the Armory, the town property on
Mountain Street
, Garden Time and others. We have looked at all of these different places.
“The Armory would be wonderful, but it is too costly to heat and maintain. If you move to Garden Time or to The Line, then you are taking property off the tax rolls. As far as I am concerned, you have the Skenesborough Firehouse where it is not on the tax rolls now and it is in the center of the village and there is enough room for everyone on one floor.”
Emerson said he felt a move to the firehouse was something the community was concerned about.
“I don’t think that there is a lot of enthusiasm for going over there,” said Emerson. “I have had people tell me that they were concerned that a move there would deny people a place that they have used for public assembly for a long time.”
Both Armstrong and Richard Gordon, who are running for town supervisor in the upcoming 2009 general election, said they would w
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Tags: Armory, Different Places, Final Decision, Garden Time, George Armstrong, Mayor Francis, Municipalities, Raino, Scribner, Town Hall, Vern, Volunteer Fire Company, Whitehall
