Moving out

Sparta closes the door on renovating its old municipal building, By Angela Thies Sparta - Township Manager Henry Underhill recently met with Sparta municipal engineers to determine the feasibility of renovating the old town hall building to serve as a community center for Sparta. Underhill’s report to council members at the July 12 meeting suggested the basic costs associated with making the old building usable exceeded the council’s original expectations. After reviewing costs for a new HVAC system, the needed structural repairs and code upgrades, the council concluded that demolition of the facility was a more economically sound option. “We were talking about doing the entire renovation for $1.3 million, but it appears that’s not even close to where it would be,” said Sparta Mayor Manny Goldberg. “I’ve been saying all along; I’m looking for low-cost solutions.” The town manager’s report projected a cost upwards of $2 million to complete the renovations. “I was aware that there were a lot of problems,” said Sparta Mayor Manny Goldberg, “but I was hoping that the lower floor, formerly used by the police department, could be used for senior programs, but now I don’t see that happening.” Underhill’s report to the council outlined basic changes required to make the building usable as a community center, including only minimal floor plan changes. Also identified were several existing code problems with the old building, which would require upgrading if any renovations were to occur. Another issue that came into play was the proximity of the new building to the old one. Underhill pointed out that the lower windows in the old town hall building will be covered with dirt once the final grading for the new facility is complete. Additionally, the door on the basement level no longer will be accessible, requiring plans for a new egress to meet code. Goldberg admits that he was a proponent of converting the old town hall into a community center, but said, based upon the most recent cost study, he now supports demolition of the building. “I’m still very much in favor of putting a community center in Sparta,” said Goldberg, “It’s just not going to happen with this building.” Goldberg added that there were still other options suited to the community project aside from the renovation of the old town hall. Township officials have been considering managing the demolition of the old municipal building as a way to cut down on the cost. Goldberg said that while he now supports demolition, he does have concerns over the town managing the project because of the need for asbestos removal. Underhill explained that the plans call to contract out the professional services where needed, as in the case of asbestos removal, and the need for large machinery used in the actual tearing down of the building. “We’re not actually physically going to do the demolition ourselves, but we’re going to manage the project. We would hire subcontractors,” said the township manager. In eliminating the middleman, Underhill hopes to save Sparta anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000. The new town hall building is now scheduled to be ready for occupation by mid to late August. The remaining items to complete include site work, for which bids already are under way, and radio and phone installations. Township officials said demolition of the old building could begin within two weeks of moving out, and should be completed within 10 days. Approval of the demolition was tabled until the matter of insurance could be further investigated.