Warming Up The Kitchen

At Edmond Town Hall

By Kendra Bobowick

The kitchen has enough room to prepare food for a banquet, but no aromas of sautéed onions or simmering tomato sauce steams the windows. “You can’t cook in it, that’s the problem,” said Mary Hawley Society Board of Directors member Sandy Motyka.

In fact, renovating the kitchen next to the Alexandria Room in town hall is a top priority for the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers. Ms Motyka, also a manager and liaison to the society, told the board Monday, “We’re here to help.” The society, which has established itself as a separate nonprofit fundraising entity to help support town hall, also puts the kitchen at the top of its list. “It’s our main focus,” Ms Motyka said.

Board member Jay Gill is anxious to get started. “We want to get going as soon as possible,” he said. He also has a finish line in mind and wants the space renovated and ready for the Rotary Club of Newtown’s annual pancake breakfast that takes place the first week of December. With estimates at $32,000 for plumbing, $2,000 for paint, between $10,000 and $15,000 for electrical work, $49,000 for equipment, and a hood for an undetermined amount, based on its size and location, the managers guessed at that costs to revamp the space and bring the kitchen up to code. A new kitchen could cost as much as $160,000. Ms Motyka is prepared for a higher cost, however.

“My past experience is whenever we touch something it’s more [money],” she said. Considering the building’s age, she said, “You just don’t know.”

Board member Jim Juliano has been working persistently in past months to determine costs and the scope of work to bring the kitchen up to code. He explained, “You have to understand a kitchen has a lot of trades — plumbing, electrical, appliances, a hood to bring fumes out. A lot is involved…bringing it up to code and putting modern equipment in there.”

The job is essentially a reinstallation. “That’s about right,” Mr Juliano said, comparing the soon-to-be new Edmond Town Hall kitchen with “new, shiny restaurant” equipment. Despite the amount of work that will go into updating the space, he estimates that the full scope of work should not take more than two months once it begins.

Like Mr Gill, he said, “I hope the kitchen is on line in time for the pancake breakfast in December.”

At an upcoming January 16 Mary Hawley Society Board of Director’s meeting, members will consider upcoming fundraising. “We’ve got to start somewhere,” Ms Motyka said. She and Mr Gill agree that seed money for the project is a good start. During Monday’s managers’ meeting Mr Gill made a quick decision.

 “Cash the CDs,” he said. Two accounts had been set aside for the kitchen. One CD is in the memory of Sarah Mannix, and the other is from the Rotary Club of Newtown. The Mary Hawley Society can also jump-start fundraising, and has had offers of help from Lexington Gardens, the Newtown Woman’s Club, and other individuals or groups in the community.

Mr Gill will also represent the board as he asks selectmen to support a $190,000 capital improvement request, funds that fall outside the town hall’s annual operating budget. He has his apprehensions, however. “The town has a lot on its plate,” he said. But with a brighter tone he said, “I am going to ask for something; the worst they can say is No.”

The Mary Hawley Society, which established itself in late 2007 and soon after received its nonprofit status, is separate from the Board of Managers, and follows a mission to raise funds and awareness fro the town hall. Recently a Board of Directors has formed. Members and officers include Assistant Secretary Celia Barnum, Vice Presidents Joan Crick and Jane Sharpe, Daniel Cruson, Dr John Dudley, Secretary Sandy Motyka, Sherri Paisley, R. Scudder Smith, President Donald Studley, Treasurer Marg Studley, and Julia Wasserman.