NARROWSBURG, NY — The Tusten Town Board has been discussing it for a while, and at its meeting on January 13 they voted on it: they will begin repairs to the Tusten Town Hall building. The board voted in favor of a resolution to spend up to $30,000 from the general reserve fund.

The resolution reads: “Whereas, according to the town engineer’s report on the condition of the town hall, the town hall building is in need of extensive and costly repair, and whereas, the town board has put money in reserve for many years to be utilized for such projects; resolved that the Tusten Town Board be authorized to use up to $30,000 from the general reserve fund for the purpose of town hall building repair. This resolution is subject to permissive referendum.”

The town engineer’s report refers to a report done by town engineer Wes Illing in October of 2013. In it he writes, “The building appears to have been very well constructed and is generally in good condition. There are some minor issues associated with its age as is typical with older buildings.” The town hall was built in 1926 and the board estimates that it has not had repairs done in about 25 years.

Illing’s report outlines four areas of repair: structure, drainage, means of egress, and maintenance. The recommended priorities include grit blasting the exterior, repairing stucco, repainting and caulking, constructing new footing drain, constructing a new emergency egress, eliminating the subgrade entrance, adding interior doors for access to the boiler room, replacing the concrete walkway, retrofitting a floor drain, removing plywood on theatre windows, reconstructing the front patio area, and repairing the retaining wall for the parking lot.

At the meeting, Supervisor Carol Wingert reminded the town board that it can use up to $30,000; the actual cost of the repairs may be more or less than that amount. The board will put each repair item out for bid.

In other news, Tusten Town Board meetings will now begin at 6:30 p.m. The board is trying to make the meetings shorter, and they succeeded. This meeting was an hour and a half, whereas the previous month’s meeting was three hours long. The next meeting is on Tuesday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m. with a public hearing on the special districts prior to the meeting at 6:20 p.m.