Mar 8, 2025
OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford The town of Pomfret intends to move its Town Hall to this former church on Chestnut Road.
Pomfret Town Hall is apparently moving to a former church on Chestnut Road.
The town board voted 4-0 at a special meeting Thursday to purchase a building that used to be occupied by a Mormon church. There was no discussion about it.
Supervisor Dan Pacos, Deputy Supervisor Ann Eckman, and two other board members, Adam Rak and Mike Lee, provided the four “yes” votes. The fifth board member, Christopher Schaeffer, did not attend the meeting.
Town officials had discussed a move from the current Town Hall on Day Street in Fredonia for years, stating that the site is too cramped. The resolution passed Thursday states the Town Board “has determined that it is necessary for… a new Town Hall for the good administration and expansion of necessary facilities for the public safety, convenience, and administration of town services.”
The town will buy the building at 10410 Chestnut Road from the Mormons (officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) for $370,000. Remodeling and renovating the church into a town hall will cost up to $600,000, according to Thursday’s resolution.
The town has set aside $330,000 for the purchase and renovations, and will also use $440,000 from a federal grant. Thursday’s resolution states that “Availability of satisfactory financing” is supposed to cover the rest of the funding.
A single member of the public offered comments about the plan: Michael Barris, a former Fredonia trustee who also used to work in the Town Hall on Day Street.
“I have a concern about the walkability of the location,” said Barris, a well-known pedestrian in Fredonia. “I think having the Town Hall on Barker Common presents it at the center of the population of the town and represents a great convenience.”
The Day Street site is also more convenient for municipal employees, as downtown Fredonia lawyers and banks whom they often deal with are within walking distance, Barris said.
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