By: Lydia Crawley The Parsons Advocate
The Town of Davis Council and Mayor Al Tomson did not see eye to eye on future plans for the Davis Town Hall May 14th. At a meeting of the Town Council, Mayor Tomson brought forth a motion to approve a $224,000 from Cummings Construction to renovate the garage section of the Town Hall.
The bid only extended to the new construction in the garage section and did not cover any of the existing building that might be affected by the construction, Tomson said.
Council Member Doug Martin was against the project from the start. There was discussion that Martin wanted a new building constructed due to deterioration of the old. Martin stated in the meeting that he felt the foundation was in need of repair around the entirety. Mayor Tomson disagreed and stated that he felt that only a small corner of the foundation would be in need of shoring up under the project.
There was also discussion over the historical aspect of the building. Tomson said that many in the community would like to see the building remain due to its age and history. However, the building does not have a historic designation and would not be granted one due to the many changes made to the building’s facade over the years.
“There are many people who are not in favor of tearing this down,” Tomson said. “Its a historic building. Its a landmark, its been here for a long, long time.”
Those in the audience asked where the money for the project would come from. Mayor Tomson stated that the money would come from the 1% fund. Many in attendance felt that the cost was too exorbitant for the project and wondered if the project would deplete the fund with so many other projects earmarked from it.
“Everything is coming from that 1%,” Davis resident Lori Quattro said. “Its not endless.”
Tomson said that currently, the 1% holds approximately $400,000 in uncommitted funds. Tomson claims that even after the renovation project and another project designated for the fund, the purchase of land for a new water plant, that there would still be ample money left. Tomson also claimed that the fund to be perpetually regenerating.
Tomson stated that the renovations are necessary for the safety of the office staff and the needs of the expanding Town officers. According to Tomson, the current offices are inadequate to house the addition of the new police force the Town is working in conjunction with the County to provide.
Administrator Joni Felton said her concern was that the Town staff is growing and there will be need of space to accommodate the new staff that will be coming with the new police force and enforcement officers that may be coming in the future. Felton said there was no more space in the office for any more staff.
However, more importantly, the offices are inadequate to provide the necessary safety to staff, Tomson asserted due to the staff’s proximity with the public. Tomson illustrated his point with a story from a year ago of a person who came into the office and made the staff uncomfortable. According to Tomson the person had no business in the office and refused to leave when asked. The person appeared to be on substances, according to Tomson. The person stayed at the office until law enforcement could arrive. Tomson said that incident for him was an awakening.
“People can come in and there is no recourse,” Tomson said. “You’re stuck. You’re right there.”
Martin said he wasn’t against keeping staff safe. Those in attendance, also agreed that staff needed to be safe, but felt that there had to be another, more modestly priced, option. The question was posed about the use of a window as a way for people to interact with staff and pay the bills. It was suggested to put an awning over the window and people could interact there to keep the staff distanced and safe.
Another suggestion was to only renovate half of the garage area. Tomson said that he felt “Why do half the garage when you can do it all?” Tomson also stated that he felt that encroaching on the meeting hall was not an option since it was being used by the public for outside use.
“I won’t let anybody mess with this room because we are starting to have public use it for meetings,” Tomson said. “This has got to be the size that it is, you can’t make it any smaller.”
The main concern of the meeting was definitely money. Both Council and the public were concerned over the price tag connected to the project.
“I just think when the word gets out that we are going to spend that, that the Town is going to spend that much money and the bills keep going up and up and up for our sewage and our water, our people are going to be out here protesting,” Davis resident Jeanette Ware said.
Tomson said that the point was comparing apples to oranges due to the fact that the water and sewer were separate accounts from the 1%. Tomson also said that the water and sewer departments had to pay for themselves which leads to increased rates with the ongoing projects and had nothing to do with any equipment that was being purchased or building renovations.
“But this Town, every time something is attempted to do for some kind of progress everybody says that’s too much money,” Tomson said.
Tomson said that the Town’s residents are complaining that there is a lack of parking, yet when land was available for parking, there were complaints it was too expensive for the Town to purchase. Tomson named off several pieces of land the Town could have purchased included the old Highlander, Pete Johnson’s property and the old Shop ‘n Save among others.
“We have no idea what the future holds for this town, that’s my concern,” Davis resident Jeanette Ware said.
Council Member Jennie Helmick said she wasn’t against the renovations, but was against the price. Helmick said she felt the price was too much to simply redo a garage.
Council Member Carrie Hawkins suggested putting the matter before the Town and said she had concerns over rising costs.
Mayor Tomson made a motion to approve the $224,000 construction bid, however the motion died due to the lack of second.
“Motion dies. We will keep muddling along. The money will keep accruing and whatever we need to do, forget about it. That’s what the Town wants, that’s what the Town gets,” Tomson said.
