In pursuit of a highway garage and Town Hall

The North East Town Board has been very busy as of late. Board members have been in negotiations with Dutchess County Diesels to purchase its Route 22 property for $1.75 million. The town would get the nearly four-acre property with two existing garages; one would be converted to a Town Hall while the other would continue to serve as a garage.

This could be just the solution for which the Town Board has been hoping.

For the past couple of years board members have been searching for a suitable home for its Town Hall and highway garage facility. 

The current Town Hall at 19 North Maple Ave. is too small, too cramped and too old to address today’s needs. The town has nowhere to grow with its current hall, even though it is admittedly a lovely building in the village proper.

The highway garage, meanwhile, is more than just old. It’s downright dangerous. With cracks in the mortar and shingles falling off the roof, mold growth and worse, the garage is in dire need of replacement. Not only that, but it’s too small for the town’s highway needs.

Just how well does Dutchess County Diesels answer the problem? Well, that remains to be seen. All will be discovered in the next few weeks as engineering and environmental studies take place, along with title searches and other contractual details. 

The $1.75 million isn’t a final price, either. It’s the tentative price, meaning other ancillary costs will add to the final tally. That’s reasonable, though, because the necessary work will take time and money to execute.

Now, could the town have stayed within the village center and maybe moved into the former Millerton Elementary School (MES) building, or Little School, as it’s sometimes called? 

Sure. But according to town Supervisor John Merwin the cost to retrofit MES into a Town Hall was over $2 million. Plus, the annual operation and maintenance costs at MES were estimated at $75,500. Those costs didn’t even take into account the construction of a new highway garage — and one would need to be built at that location.

Now, granted, Dutchess County Diesels is about a mile-and-a-half away from the village proper. That’s not bad for a highway garage, but ideally, a Town Hall should be more centrally located. However, available property in the town of North East and village of Millerton is scarce, especially property that could accommodate a highway garage and municipal building. If you have a better solution, make sure to let the board know. 

Overall, the current proposal is fairly encouraging and we’re anxious to learn more. All will be revealed at a special Town Board meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 6 p.m. at the existing highway garage at 11 South Center Street in Millerton. If you’re interested in the subject, please try to attend. Many questions will be answered.