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COLE HALL - Employees on First Floor Displaced Due to Leaks

Posted: August 21, 2024

SHAFTSBURY - The problem with water leaking into Cole Hall is so persistent that town employees working on the first floor will be moved temporarily to the second floor of the historic building, which houses the town offices.

The issue came up at the board's Aug. 5 meeting. At that time the leaks seemed to be associated with heavy downpours. Town Clerk Marlene Hall said new windows installed a few years ago had improved the water incursion problem and thought the issue was water coming through the walls.

"When we were speaking about it at the previous Select Board meeting, Marlene went down to find window sills were sopping wet," Town Administrator Paula Iken said at Monday's Select Board meeting. "It's not just a thunderstorm. It's happening all the time."

"It's still leaking and it still needs to be dealt with."

Iken said she has calls out to two engineering firms to examine the building and assess the issue but has not heard back yet. In the meantime, the assessor will move upstairs as will the town clerk eventually, after the Sept. 10 Mount Anthony Union school bond vote. A large copier and the computer server will be moved upstairs and wiring provided for temporary

workstations for the relocated employees.

Both Iken and Jennifer Holley, town operations coordinator, said they were concerned about the weight of items, particularly numerous filing cabinets, to be brought upstairs. Iken said she will ask Shaftsbury Fire Chief Joseph Vadakin to check to make sure the second floor can handle the extra weight.

"I'm very nervous about bringing up all the file cabinets. They're extremely heavy," Holley said. "This building was not built for that."

"This floor was not built for that," Iken said. "We have nooks and crannies we can put them in but, but depending on what Joe says we might need something externally for a couple of months."

Work on Cole Hall, as well as developing a town green and community center nearby, have been the subject of ongoing discussion. A new community center building is foreseen as part of the project, which is being planned by the Community Center Development Committee. Whether or not the center building would house any municipal offices is still under consideration.

At its Sept. 5 meeting, the Select Board reached consensus on consulting with the Bennington County Regional Commission to see if climate resiliency or other grants are available for preservation of historic structures to pay for a consultant to come in and determine the source of and solutions for the water problem.

According to the town website, Cole Hall was built in 1834 by Uriah Cole with stone quarried from the nearby Cole Farm. It originally housed a Universalist Church. In later years the Cole heirs donated the property to the town with the understanding it could be used for no religious sect except the Universalist but could be used for town purposes. The town offices have been located at Cole Hall since 1973.

In a related matter, Iken provided an update on demolition of a house and barn on property the town purchased near Cole Hall for the community center project.

"The project is half done. The barn is down and the house is being worked on this week," she said. "(Contractor) Matt Morse is doing a really good job and we're pleased to find out that he's recycling everything. Con-crete goes one place, metal goes another place."

Matt Morse Excavating's of $48,000 to demolish both buildings was accepted. Work demolishing the house was well underway on Tuesday afternoon.

Compliments of: The Bennington Banner
Posted/Author: Mark Rondeau

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