July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
City hall remains an issue (12/29/07)
Dunkirk City Council
By By ROBERT BANSER-
DUNKIRK - City officials will be facing some hard decisions in the next few months.
With a new mayor set to take office on Jan. 1, city leaders are trying to determine just how much money it will cost to make the city hall useable again, and if keeping city offices downtown will be worth the expense.
At Friday night's end-of-the-year meeting, councilman Tom Johnson said engineers and building contractor representatives, including Jay County engineer Dan Watson, have recommended putting a new roof for the structure, finding and eliminating the cause of raw sewage coming into the unfinished basement, and cleaning up mold, mildew and pigeon dropping problems in the building.
Structurally, the city hall building appears to be in good shape, but lack of maintenance and cleaning have caused substantial problems, Johnson said he was told.
Johnson said an inspection was made on a day when it was raining and the roof was clearly leaking. "If we don't fix that soon, we will need to replace the entire council chambers," Johnson said. This is the case even though the council meeting room is located on the first floor of the two-story building.
He said he and Watson plan to prepare specifications and then accept proposals to get an idea how expensive the roof work will be.
In addition Johnson was given permission to have cameras put into various sewer lines to trace what was causing the sewage problems.
Also all the duct work in the building needs to be thoroughly cleaned, he said.
After all these problems were aired, Dunkirk area resident Brian Addington asked if the city wouldn't be better off purchasing the former license branch building on South Main Street which he owns.
Addington said that he would be willing to sell that building and its adjacent parking lot to the city for $80,000.
"It seems like you're putting good money after bad with the current city hall structure," Addington said.
Mayor Sam Hubbard agreed that an extraordinary amount of money had been poured into the present city hall, but "I don't want to see it abandoned."
Council members said they wanted to continue with their plans to move the city clerk-treasurer's office from the current city hall to the nearby Fager building, across the street. Council members signed an agreement to move into the Fager building earlier this month, but a variety of improvements remain to be made.
A new carpet has to be laid and the furnace checked over, Johnson said.
Reluctant to make the move, Dunkirk clerk-treasurer Jane Kesler said the Fager building restroom was not handicapped accessible. However, council members told her that they did not think this would be a problem as public meetings were not going to be held there.
Johnson added that West Jay Community Center representatives told him that as long as city officials were making an effort to solve the problems with city hall, the council meetings could continue to be held free of charge in the WJCC.
In other action at Friday night's meeting, council members:
•Reviewed a lone bid from current provider, BestWay Disposal Company of Randolph County, for a new three-year refuse disposal contract for city residents and small businesses. Council members agreed to accept the BestWay proposal, calling for a rate of $8.35 per unit during the first year of the contract; $8.98 in the second year; and $9.65 in the third year. The current rate is $7.59 a unit.
Under the new contract, the number of units will be reduced from 1,200 to 1,050 which will mean a cost-savings for the city. The annual contract price will be $105,210 in the first year; $113,148 in the second year; and $121,590 in the third year.
•Agreed to provide additional Tasers to the police department as well as purchase five new Glock G-22, .40 caliber handguns for the police department. These recommendations were made by Dunkirk police Capt. Dane Mumbower who is scheduled to be named the city's new police chief as soon as Mayor-elect Ron Hunt takes office.
•Noted that the new council members and mayor will be sworn in during a special ceremony at 3 p.m. on Jan. 1 in the Dunkirk Union Hall. Free refreshments will be served, Dunkirk Democratic Party leader Pam Bunch said.[[In-content Ad]]
With a new mayor set to take office on Jan. 1, city leaders are trying to determine just how much money it will cost to make the city hall useable again, and if keeping city offices downtown will be worth the expense.
At Friday night's end-of-the-year meeting, councilman Tom Johnson said engineers and building contractor representatives, including Jay County engineer Dan Watson, have recommended putting a new roof for the structure, finding and eliminating the cause of raw sewage coming into the unfinished basement, and cleaning up mold, mildew and pigeon dropping problems in the building.
Structurally, the city hall building appears to be in good shape, but lack of maintenance and cleaning have caused substantial problems, Johnson said he was told.
Johnson said an inspection was made on a day when it was raining and the roof was clearly leaking. "If we don't fix that soon, we will need to replace the entire council chambers," Johnson said. This is the case even though the council meeting room is located on the first floor of the two-story building.
He said he and Watson plan to prepare specifications and then accept proposals to get an idea how expensive the roof work will be.
In addition Johnson was given permission to have cameras put into various sewer lines to trace what was causing the sewage problems.
Also all the duct work in the building needs to be thoroughly cleaned, he said.
After all these problems were aired, Dunkirk area resident Brian Addington asked if the city wouldn't be better off purchasing the former license branch building on South Main Street which he owns.
Addington said that he would be willing to sell that building and its adjacent parking lot to the city for $80,000.
"It seems like you're putting good money after bad with the current city hall structure," Addington said.
Mayor Sam Hubbard agreed that an extraordinary amount of money had been poured into the present city hall, but "I don't want to see it abandoned."
Council members said they wanted to continue with their plans to move the city clerk-treasurer's office from the current city hall to the nearby Fager building, across the street. Council members signed an agreement to move into the Fager building earlier this month, but a variety of improvements remain to be made.
A new carpet has to be laid and the furnace checked over, Johnson said.
Reluctant to make the move, Dunkirk clerk-treasurer Jane Kesler said the Fager building restroom was not handicapped accessible. However, council members told her that they did not think this would be a problem as public meetings were not going to be held there.
Johnson added that West Jay Community Center representatives told him that as long as city officials were making an effort to solve the problems with city hall, the council meetings could continue to be held free of charge in the WJCC.
In other action at Friday night's meeting, council members:
•Reviewed a lone bid from current provider, BestWay Disposal Company of Randolph County, for a new three-year refuse disposal contract for city residents and small businesses. Council members agreed to accept the BestWay proposal, calling for a rate of $8.35 per unit during the first year of the contract; $8.98 in the second year; and $9.65 in the third year. The current rate is $7.59 a unit.
Under the new contract, the number of units will be reduced from 1,200 to 1,050 which will mean a cost-savings for the city. The annual contract price will be $105,210 in the first year; $113,148 in the second year; and $121,590 in the third year.
•Agreed to provide additional Tasers to the police department as well as purchase five new Glock G-22, .40 caliber handguns for the police department. These recommendations were made by Dunkirk police Capt. Dane Mumbower who is scheduled to be named the city's new police chief as soon as Mayor-elect Ron Hunt takes office.
•Noted that the new council members and mayor will be sworn in during a special ceremony at 3 p.m. on Jan. 1 in the Dunkirk Union Hall. Free refreshments will be served, Dunkirk Democratic Party leader Pam Bunch said.[[In-content Ad]]
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