NORWICH – City officials explained last week that converting the third floor of the firehouse into City Hall offices should cost considerably less than previous estimates indicated.
Last week, the city held a special meeting of the Common Council to discuss the possibility of moving city offices from the old train depot to the fire house, an idea that has been in the works for several years. During an interview following the meeting, Mayor Joseph Maiurano said he encourages city residents to call or e-mail questions or concerns. “We’re trying to do what’s best for the city, and we want to have the whole community involved,” Maiurano said.
The proposed move was suggested as a way to consolidate the city from the inside. “Consolidation begins at home. We have control over what we can do, and we must show that we are moving in this direction, and doing everything in our control. From there, we hope to generate more consolidation,” Maiurano said.
In addition, the mayor said he hopes the move would make the city more efficient, by providing more efficient office operations.
Finance Director William Roberts explained the current city hall building was purchased from the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company around March of 1953 for a price of $16,471. Roberts explained the depot was partially used for offices and storage until the early 90s. In 1996, the city began to restore and renovate the depot for City Hall use. Renovations for depot and the City Police Department, which was also operating out of the fire house, totaled $400,000, which the city bonded. In 1998, City Hall was moved out of the fire house and into the depot.
“When city offices were moved from the fire house, the building only had about half the total usable space it has now,” Roberts said. He explained at the time, the police department was also located in the building, the third floor was not usable for anything except record storage, and the bays were not yet available on the side of the building.
Currently, the depot needs several repairs and renovations if the city decides to continue using the building for City Hall purposes. The city has estimated the depot will require at least $244,000 in repairs, which will include a new roof, heating improvements and other repairs. In addition, they have stated that an additional $116,000 will need to be spent on the third floor of the fire house regardless of whether city offices are moved to that location or not. The third floor was never completely finished and still needs electrical and lighting in addition to finishing the inside portion of the exterior walls.
Past cost estimates for the office enovations to the third floor of the firehouse were approximately $360,000, however Maiurano said those estimates were for the “Cadillac” version of the renovations. The plans have since been scaled back to include only what the city really needs. Roberts has estimated the more simple renovations, which include more cubicle-style offices and fewer confidential offices, would cost approximately $270,000. The train depot would then be marketed and hopefully sold, returning the property to the tax rolls.
Roberts explained the city has been saving money for municipal building needs for over ten years. Currently, he said, the city has a few hundred thousand dollars saved for building projects, and he sees no other major building improvement projects that will be required in the near future. “We’ve done enhancements on all of our buildings, and there are no other large pressing issues,” Roberts said, “but we still wouldn’t deplete all of our money to do the renovations.”
The city plans to hold a second special council meeting in the near future to address the questions and concerns brought up at last week’s meeting. Anyone with further questions can call City Hall at 334-1201 or contact city officials through the city’s new web site at www.norwichnewyork.net.