Murray building proposal defeated at the polls

The proposal to construct a joint municipal building for the Town of Murray and Village of Holley was defeated on November 2 by a margin of 615 against and 384 in favor of the construction.

"It was a big disappointment," Town of Murray Supervisor Hank Lehning said of the outcome. "I think the huge increase we have had in school taxes the past year has made it hard for people to meet their tax bills and even though we assured them that this construction wouldn't really adversely affect their bills, I think they were disbelieving."

According to Lehning, 45 percent of the people who voted didn't even vote on the proposition. "I don't know if their votes would have changed the outcome but it would have been nice to have had their vote so we knew what their feelings were," he said.

The town has seen proposals for the construction of a new town building defeated several times in as many years. In order to become ADA compliant, the town has sought approval from voters to construct a new town hall that would accommodate handicapped accessible bathroom facilities as well as allowing residents access to the town's assessor, which is housed on the second floor of the Murray Town Hall. The town hall also faces space concerns when court is in session and attorneys and their clients must step into the highway garage or outside to have a private conference. The joint municipal building with the Village of Holley would also have alleviated the ADA compliant issues faced by the village in the fact that their restrooms are not handicapped accessible, nor is their second floor meeting room.

The town is back to square one, Lehning said. "We will just have to live with the building for the next few years and hope that nothing goes wrong," he said.

Murray officials will have to contact Rural Development about the loan funds that had been held in anticipation of the construction. "I don't know if they will continue to hold the funds or if we will have to reapply at a future date," he said.