Wheelock to Fix Town Hall or Face Federal Lawsuit

Details

Created on Thursday, 21 October 2021 19:15

Written by Alexandra Huff

Article Written by Kaitlin Flannigan

WHEELOCK - The town of Wheelock needs to come to a decision on upgrading the town hall to meet federal standards. Currently, the town hall is not up to code with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The United States Justice Department is ready to sue the town if a decision is not reached by December.

Renovations must be made to bring the historical building to federal standards. Two plans have been drafted and presented to the town select board: one to build a second floor and another to build out sideways from the original structure. Both proposals include changes to the interior stairs, restrooms, van accessible parking, and an accessible entrance. After hearing that the Wheelock community wanted to preserve the structure as much as possible, the select board voted in favor of a continuation to the current structure in a 7-4 decision in late September.

Even with this vote, the select board is looking to come up with a third proposal to help the town understand the financial cost of this decision. "On one side if the option of doing the plans we're discussing, and on the other, how much do we project it would be to not commit and get sued by the Justice Department," said select board member Liz Muckerman.