Town Hall needs work, but is it worth the investment?

Officials have to decide whether to repair old facility or look for new home
By 
FINN ASKIN
Ozaukee Press staff

The Town of Saukville is evaluating its

Town Hall to determine what facilities need to be repaired, replaced or completely overhauled.

The building at 3762 Lakeland Rd. was constructed in the 1940s, Chairman Kevin Kimmes said, and wasn’t designed for its current use.

“It’s an old schoolhouse. It wasn’t built for what we are using it for,” he said.

There are a multitude of facility issues plaguing the building, including an HVAC system on its last legs.

“The HVAC system is an old boiler system. We don’t have a quote on it yet, but we know it won’t be cheap (to fix or replace),” Kimmes said.

Kimmes added that the roof needs to be replaced and that could cost anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000.

The roof will need to be replaced in the next two years, he said.

A room in the building is also unable to be heated.

“We are brainstorming how to be efficient with the tax dollars and ideas of what can be done,” he said.

The sound system used for the public meeting room is also broken, Kimmes said, adding, “we don’t want to get a new system that may not be able to transfer over to a new space.”

He said the Town Board may look for a new town hall if an opportunity arises.

“We are keeping our options open, and we are hoping to have more direction (with the projects) in 2024. We are not looking to make a decision here today,” he said.

Kimmes said the town may also look to collaborate with the county if they were to take over the Payne and Dolan site across the street.

The Payne and Dolan site is a former limestone quarry.

“Depending on what happens with the property, there may be a collaborative approach where they use the space to administer that,” he said.

Regardless, Kimmes said, the town is looking for ways to save money while also creating a space that the town can work with.

“I think the main point here is we are providing a good system and being good stewards with the tax dollars,” he said. “We are trying to find ways to properly manage the facility. We are also trying to reuse and keep things we can because we know these projects will cost lots of money.

“It doesn’t make sense to keep putting money into the old facility. We are trying to be intentional with our plans.”

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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

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