By a vote of 190-135, taxpayers in the Town of Murray rejected a proposal to construct a new town hall.

Preliminary plans for the proposed 7,200 square foot building came with a price tag of approximately $500,000. The town was approved for a $775,000 low interest loan from Rural Development, Supervisor Henry Lehning said.

The rejection of the proposal has sent officials back to the drawing board as they look for ways to address lack of space and the need for a handicapped accessible facility.

"We are going to revamp the plans a bit, downsize it and try to accomplish the project for less money," Lehning said.

Murray officials hoped to construct a new building to replace the existing facility that was constructed in 1966. The present facility is unable to accommodate the increased amount of walk-in traffic. Ten years ago, Murray had one water district and now there are 10, Lehning said. "The amount of taxpayer traffic and paperwork has increased dramatically," he said.

Also cited as drawbacks to the present facility are the lack of space to accommodate the crowds on the nights when court is in session and the fact that neither the restroom facilities nor the Town Assessor's office are handicapped accessible.

The new building, Lehning said, would have offered space to accommodate planning and zoning board meetings, justice court and the town clerk and separate meeting space for attorneys to hold confidential client meetings. Office space for the code enforcement officer, town supervisor and the town assessor would have been provided to better serve the taxpayers.
Officials said they are going to attempt to gauge why the project was rejected before they bring the project back to them.

"We are going to put this up for another vote," Lehning said. "We have preliminary figures and hope to turn this around pretty quickly so we can put the proposal up for another vote."