The square footage of the future town hall was the talk of the night at the February 7th monthly board meeting as the Town of Thorp board members studied the construction plans for the town hall and shop that were recently submitted to the State for review.
Former Chairman Louie Andruszkiewicz expressed his concern over the size of the 30’ x 48’ town hall and 42’ X 84’ shop to the town board as they discussed the plans with Henry Berry of Ratsch Engineering, Inc.
“Is the square footage that we got at this town hall and garage, is that all the footage that we can build on it or what happens if we go bigger than what we are now?” Andruszkiewicz asked.
“We can go thirty-four feet bigger, I think,” Berry stated. “We are just under 5,000 square feet.” He mentioned that if it goes over 5,000 square feet then they would need a fire wall.
Andruszkiewicz stated that according to the plans the future town hall would be eight feet shorter than the current town hall. “If you are going to make any changes, now’s the time you’re going to make them,” he remarked.
“We went to look at Withee’s and our hall is going to be eight feet longer than Withee’s and I thought Withee’s was adequate,” said Chairman Jerry Jacks as Supervisor Bill Kodl agreed.
“Ok, then you’re going to suffer with your voting,” Andruszkiewicz told them referring to the space needed for upcoming elections and the voting machines.
James Hickman, Town of Thorp resident, asked if the town office could be made smaller to give more footage to the main part of the hall, to which board members explained that the office will also be used for file storage. Hickman added that he can see Andruszkiewicz’s point for needing more space but it’s not worth it to put in a fire wall for a few feet.
The Town of Thorp board members decided to shorten the office four feet to allow for more room for the main hall without adding footage to the exterior of the building and creating a need for a firewall.
With the construction plans call for the exterior of the building to be board and batten, Jacks stated that the board voted to go with board and batten because “it looks nicer.”
“It really sharpens up the outside of the building,” Kodl stated referencing a similar building exterior at Wundrow Auto Repair in Stanley. “It really fancies it up.”
“It is a town shed,” remarked a meeting attendee and added that there isn’t another town shed with a board and batten exterior.
“But still it’s not a pole shed,” Kodl countered and added, “Well, we’re one of a kind.”
“We don’t want this town building to look like a regular generic pole shed that you have your semi and your pickup truck in and your combine in. We want something a little nicer than that,” Hickman stated.
“That’s what I like to hear, a town taxpayer talking about making it nice,” Andruszkiewicz announced.
“Hey, I’m paying for it, you’re paying for it,” Hickman said.
“But you’re going to pay a lot longer for it than I’m going to pay for it,” Andruszkiewicz answered.
In other news
Chairman Jerry Jacks was appointed to be the emergency relief driver for the Town of Thorp. “I can handle that snowplow and the truck,” Jacks said. “I’ve been driving a truck since I was six years old,” he added with a smile.
The next Town of Thorp monthly board meeting is scheduled for March 13th at 6:30 pm at the current town hall.
