As the project moves forward, the Town Board is asking any residents with questions or comments about the project to attend the next Town Board meeting for a public discussion on the matter. The next meeting of the Arkwright Town Board, Monday, Sept. 8, will feature time for public discussion pertaining to the project. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the current Town Hall building.

McAvoy defined the plans for a new Town Hall as a multi-generational building in the town.

“I absolutely believe it’s consistent with what we’ve said since Day One here,” McAvoy said.

McAvoy stated his view for the town of Arkwright is to make it a place where residents want to live and are proud to call home. He believes that a new town hall will greatly enhance the image of the Town. The current structure is bordering on disrepair, with water marks showing from the ceiling and a space that is not conducive to official town business.

Shown is a portion of the addition to the Arkwright Highway Department building, which was completed within the past year.

After the estimates for one building to encompass a new town hall as well as a Highway Department garage came in well over the town’s expectations, plans were changed. Instead, the focus was initially on building a Highway Department addition, followed by roofing and siding updates. Those upgrades totaled just over $1 million, with over $800,000 spent on the Highway Department addition. The new Highway Department garage features nine bays.

The initial “sticker shock” price for an all-encompassing building was roughly $2.6 million, with more costs expected down the line, as well. McAvoy believes the new town hall can be built for roughly $1.5 million to remain in the same ballpark as the initial figure, but “with a lot more footprint and a lot nicer town building.”

McAvoy also explained that by splitting the projects up, it allowed for more time to collect the money necessary to cover the cost of the project. Arkwright is not raising taxes to cover the costs and no bonds are needed. McAvoy believes the frustration some residents share in the building taking so long will be worth it in the long run.

“At the end of the day, I think we’re going to be better off from a footprint perspective. If the criticism is it took too long, then it took too long. Seventy years from now, nobody is going to know how long it took to get those built,” McAvoy said.

Part of the reason the Town of Arkwright can afford the building projects is the revenue stream coming from hosting wind turbines. Rather than a slight decrease to town taxes, the Town Board has prioritized significant building improvements to enhance the town’s footprint and identity.

Jamie Hebner, a Town Highway employee said, “A huge portion of the Town didn’t want those windmills, and we let them come in. If we do nothing with that, it was a waste of time.”

Hebner later added his perspective from speaking to residents of the Town of Arkwright regularly. He said, “An overwhelming amount of people in this town want something built here.”