Date: Fri 24-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Tonw-Hall-South-leaking

Full Text:

Hurley Reports The Leaking Has Stopped In Town Hall South

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Think Town Hall South is full of water following Hurricane Floyd? Think again.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said the building is dry as a bone. There is

no mildew and no stink.

The leaking at the much-maligned Town Hall South may have been permanently

plugged. Public works crews have discovered holes in the building's

foundation, which are believed to be the main cause of the building's general

deterioration and flooding. Mr Hurley believes large rocks were not properly

screened from the fill when the building's foundation was first poured many

years ago. Over the years, expansion has caused the rocks to press up firmly

against the foundation, creating holes, oozing walls, odor, mildew and

flooding.

Mr Hurley said his crews have found what people suspected all along. The only

solution was to waterproof the walls and install the proper footing drains.

"We always knew that just patching from the inside was not the correct or

final solution. As water pressure built up outside it would push water inside.

The outside pressure would always find a weakness somewhere," Mr Hurley said.

In February of 1997, town employees were forced to evacuate their Town Hall

South offices when they began to encounter swamp-like conditions in their work

spaces. The building had deteriorated beyond the point of habitability as

water seeped through mildew-covered walls and onto waterlogged carpets. The

offices of land use, health, parks & recreation and building set up shop at

Canaan House on the campus of Fairfield Hills. The building was leased from

the state for two years. That lease has since been extended.

For a time, there was some talk that those town agencies may eventually move

back once the leaking was stopped. However, the latest plan recommended by the

Municipal Space Needs Committee calls for the police department (already

located on the upper level) to expand its offices to the lower level. The

entire building would need to be renovated at a cost of $4.1 million. The

expansion would provide the department with a 328 percent increase in usable

space.

"People have always had questions about how adequate [Town Hall South] is for

office space, but to get any value back, you have to solve the water problem,"

Mr Hurley said.

The building, a former farm equipment sales room and repair facility, was

purchased by the town from Ruwet-Sibley in December of 1978 for $390,000.

Voters approved the expenditure of $600,000 to renovate it for town offices in

August of 1979.