M'burgh Closer to Access Ramp for Village Hall

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - Middleburgh Village board members may approve a handicap-accessible ramp on the side of the historic village hall at their April meeting.

Meeting at the Middleburgh Library Monday night, Mayor Tim Knight updated board members Monday on the long journey to this recommendation.

In December, board members agreed to contract with Delaware Engineering to prepare plans for making Village Hall handicapped accessible, Mayor Knight told board members. Since then, "there have been many phone calls, e-mails, and proposed plans concerning different pathways to making this project both technically and fiscally feasible for the village and its taxpayers."

Several different options were considered, the Mayor said.

"We considered the possibility of putting a wheelchair lift where the front stairs into Village Hall currently are and building a side entrance ramp into the building. After consulting a lift specialist, that location was ruled infeasible due to the front entryway’s dimensions."

Then the village and engineers considered the possibility of installing either a wheelchair lift or ramp into the rear of Village Hall, but that ended up being the most expensive and least convenient option, the Mayor added, as that would require the village to remove a dumbwaiter from the rear hallway, make additional ADA compliant improvements, and eliminate two to three parking spots, which would negatively affect both the Village Hall and Kelley’s Grill.

In addition to those options, the village also reconsidered the possibility of either installing a wheelchair lift or ramp into a side entrance of the building. "After a lot of research and hard work, our engineers found this approach to be the most affordable and technically feasible option. Following several one-on-one conversations amongst us, it was the board’s consensus to pursue a ramp instead of a lift."

There are two factors to choose a ramp instead of a lift, the Mayor said.

The two factors are: a ramp allows for "greater accessibility into Village Hall than a lift, since everyone – wheelchair bound folks, mothers with strollers, and residents who have difficulty climbing the existing steep stairs – would be able to utilize this entrance," and a ramp is likely to have fewer long-term maintenance issues than a lift, which will result in expensive service calls and eventual replacement when it deteriorates over time, Mayor Knight added.

This project will cost the village between $79,000-$80,000, according to the engineer’s estimates, the Mayor said. "Thanks to the careful and forward-thinking budgets of this board since 2017, we already have slightly over $50,000 saved towards this project."

To pay for the remainder, the village can either take it directly from village savings, which is in "very healthy shape right now," take a five-to-t10-year bond, which the village can absorb into the existing budget; or the village can pursue matching or percentage grants for these types of projects, Mayor Knight added.

A decision will likely be made next month, the Mayor said.

"I am not asking my colleagues to make a decision on this project tonight, but I wanted to give everyone an update on where things stand. This effort has been over three decades in the making and I believe we owe it to our community to move forward sooner rather than later. With that in mind, I will be asking Delaware Engineering to prepare a bid contract & accompanying documents for your formal consideration at the April 8 meeting." 

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