State grant for new handicapped entrance at Town Hall may be sought

Town Board members are considering whether to apply for a state grant that would cover $27,000 of the $113,000 needed to add a handicapped-accessible entrance at Town Hall along with eight parking spaces.

At a public hearing Wednesday, library Special Operations Coordinator Vernon Benjamin said there is an irony to the current accessible entrance, which he sometime prevents people with disabilities from easily getting the assistance they need.

The town clerk, he added, issues handicapped parking permits. But using the current accessible entrance requires disabled visitors to go through the town courtroom to get to the clerk’s desk.

“That includes whenever court is in session, and that’s fine with the court,” Benjamin said. “(But) in some cases ... they have to have criminal trials, and in some cases, for the safety of the public, they have to bar the public from the trial.

“So, during that time, no one can get through the entire Town Hall by using the handicapped access,” he said.

If the courtroom is closed, the only access to the clerk’s office is from the lower parking lot, which requires the use of stairs.

Officials said the grant would fund equipment needed to make repairs to a currently inoperable doorway on the other side of the courtroom. Town Supervisor Fred Costello said that entrance has not been used since the town began using the current Town Hall at 4 High St.

“You won’t notice the door right now,” he said. “It’s covered in sheet metal. You take that off, the door exists, and we can utilize it. The cost is construction of the retaining wall, the fill, the asphalt, drainage, the ramp and the deck structure.”

Officials said the door connects to a hallway that leads directly to the clerk’s desk.

“That used to be the hallway to get to the Assessor’s Office,” he added.

Board members did not say when a vote would be taken on a resolution to apply for the grant.