Mohan hopes for new Town Hall in two years
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The Town of Amherst currently has its Town Hall at 5583 Main St., marked by the red star. Supervisor Satish Mohan has proposed a new hall, at Audubon Parkway, marked by the yellow star.

Supervisor Satish Mohan said the departments housed in the current Main Street Town Hall have outgrown the building and a new and larger one is needed.

He has proposed erecting a new Town Hall in the next two years, at a cost of no more than $10 million.

"The feasibility is easy. There are two ways to do it: bond the money to build one or have a developer build one and lease it," he said.

One of the areas Mohan is considering is the John James Audubon Parkway complex, where the Police Department, Town Court, Center for Senior Services and Audubon Library are located.

Mohan believes the current location in the Village of Williamsville (the southernmost section of town) is inconvenient for many residents, and the offices should be closer to the center of town.

"The location is not suitable for our emerged town," he said. "The population has increased in the north portion of town."

The Audubon complex is located near Interstate 990's Audubon exit. He said that placing the Town Hall there would create a good town center with several services all in one location.

He is also considering building in Amherst State Park, on Mill Street, noting that one of the negatives is that it would still not be in the center of town.

Mohan said all the offices in the existing Town Hall are congested, and there is no more room for records, which are sent to warehouses.

By building a new Town Hall, Mohan said the town could address current problems and add some new amenities, including a reception desk, resource library and commons area.

He estimated that the new Town Hall would need to be at least 25 percent larger.

"In talking to the department heads we formed a task force," he said about reviewing plans.

Mohan said he didn't know what the general consensus was for supporting a new Town Hall, but he hadn't heard any opposition from the departments.

He said should a new Town Hall be built, the current hall could be leased, bringing in revenue for the town, which could offset the cost of a new one.

Not everyone is in favor of the proposal.

Council Member Dan Ward said that building a new Town Hall is not a new concept. He heard the pitch when he was supervisor.

"This idea has been around for awhile," he said, adding that whenever there is a new supervisor some departments push for a new building. "They try to get one to bite. As an engineer this appeals to him (Mohan)."

Ward said he thinks a new Town Hall is unnecessary and the town could "do better with what they have." He said the current building was erected with the idea of there being three above-ground floors, and he thinks there is now a need for that additional floor.

He said the Town Hall should remain on Main Street, which has been the center of government. The Village Hall, as well as the offices of Sen. Mary Lou Rath, Assemblyman Jim Hayes and Legislator Ed Rath III are all located on that section of Main Street.

"It's a sense of what the town is, and was," he said, comparing the argument for moving the Town Hall to the center of town as the same as moving Washington, D.C. to Nebraska.

Currently, there is not a bus line that goes to the J.J. Audubon Parkway, which Ward said is a major reason the building can't be moved there.

"It doesn't serve the greater population," he said.

In Ward's opinion, the idea isn't to build a bigger Town Hall but to shrink town government - not just the Town Board, but the number of employees as well.

Another idea he has proposed, is bringing in a group from the University at Buffalo that specializes in facility planning. He said the council member meeting room is definitely in need of changes. He also believes that technology will reduce the need for space, with employees using more e-mail and computer.

He does agree that the current Town Hall is too crowded, but he said retrofitting the building would cost far less than a new one.

The Police Department was built in 1979 at 500 J.J. Audubon Parkway. The Town Court followed in 1985, and the senior center was completed in 2000.

The current Town Hall was built in 1965, and the Williamsville Village Hall was built in 1964.