Murray tables building talks

Talks for the construction of a new building for the Town of Murray have been tabled pending further investigation of options.

"We're going back to start talks with the Village of Holley officials about the possibility of sharing space in the old high school," Murray Supervisor Hank Lehning said.

The high school building in Holley has been abandoned for several years, and sits on property adjacent to the library. Lehning said he has no idea yet what would be involved in renovating the building to make it usable for the municipality and said that asbestos in the facility might be an issue. "Right now, we're just going to talk to some individuals and see what's involved there," Lehning said.

The town had scheduled a public hearing for June 14 to discuss the matter of constructing a new town building on land across the street from the present site - a proposal that was defeated in a referendum in the past.

Orren VanOrden, a resident, said he is not in favor of the town's plans to construct a building on the adjacent property, partially because of cost and partially because of potential traffic problems.

Does the town need a new building? Van Orden doesn't really think so. "If the court room space is tight, then maybe they need to schedule court more often or at different times so the courtroom isn't overflowing," he said. "And as for the town assessor having to bring the book downstairs so individuals who are handicapped can see it - I don't know how often that has happened in the past."

Another issue that has been raised by town officials is the lack of handicapped accessible restroom facilities in the present town building and residents said that could likely be addressed by moving some of the existing partitions in the building.

Lehning said more information on the town's plans would be forthcoming once a meeting was scheduled with Holley officials.