April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Major expense forecast to repair Town Hall restrooms
But bringing them up to modern standards, including meeting the restrictions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, could cost almost six figures. That's according to an estimate by Susan Thayer-Fye with the Hope Main Street Group.
The Town Council has not approved, nor even publicly considered the repair of the restrooms, or settled on any estimates. However, after the proposals for a new Town Hall were shelved, the restroom problems became more important.
Thayer-Fye told the Town Council last week that she and David Clouse, the town's utilities manager, took a close look at the restrooms -- the only permanent, public restrooms on the Town Square and open during major events like Heritage Days.
She said that her estimate was rough, and that her estimate was significantly higher than Clouse's. But she sketched out figures adding up to about $93,000. They include:
environmental, administrative fees and others costs.
"Basically it would be a total gut job for both the men's and the women's (restrooms)," she said.
She said that the work would include repairing the floors, adding heating and cooling, moving plumbing and replacing the existing toilets and urinals. Plus there are problems with entrances to the women's restroom, that make it difficult for a wheelchair to navigate.
Trena Carter with Administrative Resources Association, who advises the town on grant opportunities, said she was not hopeful that grant funding would be available for such a project. She said no one she had talked with at the state level could recall grants being approved for ADA-related upgrades.
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