Aurora facility report under wraps
A cost analysis of three options for a joint facility plan for the Town of Aurora, the Village of East Aurora and the Aurora Public Library has been completed, but officials are keeping details under wraps.
The report, discussed Monday during a Shared Municipal Services Committee meeting, seemed to spark more questions than answers among town, village and library officials. Town Engineer Bryan Smith declined to share any cost figures until the committee has had more time to study the report. The panel meets again in two weeks to discuss it further.
The analysis is critical since it would help frame a referendum expected to be held by March, when the state’s $396,000 grant for the study expires. Aurora Supervisor Dwight D. Krieger expressed frustration that the committee is still fine-tuning numbers.
“We’re getting closer to a drop-dead date of March,” Krieger said. “It seems these numbers keep coming out and nothing gets finalized. We’re going to get to a point where it is moot with the grant.”
The shared government facility plan has been debated for years. Since the town’s controversial purchase last year of the former Southside School at 300 Gleed Ave. as a new Town Hall, the debate has further intensified.
Library Board Vice President Al Fontanese criticized the report.
“I see things in this report that are not absolutely necessary,” he said. “We should keep costs down. We need a viable government and library operation, and not things like kitchens.”
Fontanese also questioned cost estimates on the Gleed Avenue option.
“All going to Gleed for 4 mil-lion bucks — you’ve got to be kidding me,” Fontanese said. “The assumptions are so high that they’ll scare the pants off the people, when you don’t need to move the courts and police to Gleed.”
“We have a lot of work to do yet. This will be the vehicle we will use to put some type of referendum out to the public,” Aurora Councilman James Collins said.
Aurora Councilwoman Kelly Wahl said she was not surprised that the Main Street option would cost more to build, but would have lower operating expenses because it would be more energy-efficient.
Wahl and others noted that 300 Gleed is becoming more fiscally attractive. Gleed generates $533,000 in rental income per year, Smith said.
The first option is to build a new 27,500-square-foot municipal center at Main and Whaley streets for village and town offices and an expanded library. The current Village Hall at Main and Paine streets would house police and courts.
A second possibility is to house all the town, village and library operations at 300 Gleed. Housing police and courts at Gleed also is under review.
The third option is to relocate town and village offices to the Gleed building but keep the library on Main and expand it by 6,000 square feet.
Library officials insist that they must remain on Main and hoped for 15,000 square feet. However, they said they would be content with the 13,500 square feet recommended in the plans.
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