Hoosick Town Hall Feasibility Study Presented

by Bea Peterson
At the Hoosick Town Board workshop on Monday, August 2, engineer Bill Cottrell of Cottrell Associates presented the Board with a feasibility study of three properties under consideration for the future Town Hall. The three are the Armory, Patire’s on Church and Main streets and Weeb’s Fish Fry, the former Harrison Vending, on Main Street.
Cottrell listed the building locations and their available parking. He noted the dates they were constructed and how each building was divided. He listed the total square footage in each building, their exterior appearance, their structural condition, including foundation, roof, insulation, heating, plumbing, air conditioning, electrical and alarms and their interior condition. He noted items in each building that require immediate attention. All three structures need handicapped bathrooms installed and renovations as required. There were no financial figures given.
Town Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland pointed out the importance of space for the Court/Meeting Room. “When this room gets crowded,” he said, “we can always move out to the big room in the Armory. If we go to another building, we will need to double the size of this room.” The present Court/Meeting Room is 769 square feet. Shiland estimates in another building it should be 1,600 square feet. Everyone agreed that meeting room size and parking are priority issues. After considerable discussion it was agreed that Shiland and Cottrell will come up with floor plans for the next workshop meeting on August 29. Councilman Louis Schmigel offered to assist them.
More lengthy discussion followed regarding asbestos and lead paint in the buildings. The Board agreed that an authority on the need for asbestos abatement should perform a walk-through of the three buildings and advise the Board of his conclusions.
Another building mentioned for a Town Hall was the Robson-Reinfurt Funeral Home that is now for sale. The Board chose not to include it in the mix as they have three viable sites right now.
Costs
The Town is already expending funds for the engineering work and will do so for the asbestos advisor. The purchase price of the building must be considered, and the cost of renovations must be included. Councilman Mark Cottrell pointed out that if the Town leaves the Armory there will be moving expenses, insurances and the installation of a phone system. One example Bill Cottrell pointed out in the Armory was that the first floor staircase would have to be enclosed with a firewall. When the building is no longer an Armory but primarily Town offices then all the updates must meet the NYS building code.
New Town Hall
Cottrell also did a work-up for construction of a new building, assuming it was a pre-engineered steel structure of 5,000 square feet with a 10 foot eaves height. The price he figured, at $103 a square foot, included heating, ventilation, air conditioning, overhead and profit and excluded sprinklers and site work. The amount was $525,000 without site work and contingencies that would be added. The Town owns suitable property near Wilson Hill and River Road for such a building.
Highway Work
Again, after quite a bit of discussion and extensive clarification of his Highway budget, Bill Shiland asked the Board to approve funding for the paving of Burgess Road and the chipsealing of Wilson Hill Road. He would leave a section of Burgess Road until next year, he said, and not spend more than he did on highway work last year. However, the Board decided that the full length of Burgess Road should be paved this year. The two projects will amount to close to $180,000.
Motions regarding the continuation of the Town Hall project and the highway work will be made at the Hoosick Town Board meeting on Monday, August 8, at 7 pm. There will be no public hearing on the Farmland Protection Plan this month.