Andrews seeking new town hall

    Andrews – Lawmakers are searching for a new town hall.
    “We don’t have enough room to conduct the public’s business,” Town Administrator Bill Green said last week. “We have to go somewhere else to have meetings.”
    In addition to space constraints, Andrews Town Hall on Main Street suffers from water damage, mold issues and asbestos. The building was constructed in 1940 and later remodeled.
    The previous town board worked out of a rented space in the Food Lion plaza for a couple of years while they waited to decide what to do with the old facility before going back.
    Town officials want public works employees, the police department and town hall staff under one roof. Lawmakers are developing a bid package
for engineering and architectural firms to design a building that has enough room to house all those departments. The design phase of the project will be funded through a planning grant provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
    After plans for a new town hall are finalized, officials will develop a loan and grant application combining that project with replacement of the Leatherwood water storage tank. Officials hope to get a USDA funding package, with a grant to cover 80 percent of the project and loan to cover the other 20.
    Since state officials are still overseeing the town’s finances, that much debt service would have to be approved by the Local Government Commission. Town officials say the state has indicated its support of a new town hall building and water storage tank.
    The water tank is expected to cost about $1.5 million. Officials do not have an estimate for the town hall project, as they have not yet determined how much space is needed.