SALINA — The recent renovations at Salina Town Hall were worth the wait. The last time the existing town hall underwent a makeover was in 1984 when the town purchased the building from the Liverpool Central School District. The facility was originally constructed in 1948 as a school.
In 2019 the town board authorized the Salina Town Hall Renovation project by approving a bond resolution in the amount of $8.7 million. In December 2021, the town hall renovations were completed at the building at 201 School Road in Galeville. Then-Town Supervisor Colleen Gunnip was pleased that the work came in well under budget at $7.9 million.
Gunnip is now the 4th District County Legislator and former 1st Ward Councilor Nick Paro is now the town supervisor.
The renovation project included reconfiguring all the office space in the 46,014-square-foot building.
“We wanted to make the building more efficient and safer for town residents needing services,” Gunnip said.
A new and separate court room and court office area was created at the north end of the building. Both sitting town judges are enjoying the new configuration.
“I love it,” said Judge Paul Carey, who has been on the bench here for 14 years. “We are one of the busiest town courts in the state, so it’s fitting that we’ve taken care of everything including better parking, increased seating capacity and heightened safety measures to insure the safety of our clerks and officers.”
Veteran Judge Andy Piraino agrees.
“The new courtroom is fantastic,” Piraino said. “For the first time ever we have a dedicated courtroom. The old courtroom was shared with the town board and the senior citizens for their meetings. Now we have the ability to schedule trials and preliminary hearings without worrying about conflicts in scheduling.”
The new courtroom is located across from the judges’ court offices.
“This is convenient for our clerks if they have to go back to the office to get files,” Piraino said. “We also now have a large screen for video conferences and to show the required information for jurors when we have a jury trial.”
The department of planning and development was relocated to the first floor to make it easier for residents to find, Gunnip said. One of the biggest improvements was to add handicapped parking and temporary parking at the front entrance of the building, so residents can easily get in and out when paying taxes and accessing other services.
“A major component of the project was changing the old steam heating system over to a more economical hot water heating system and a more efficient air conditioning system,” Gunnip said. “In addition, it includes new plumbing and [electrical], new doors and windows, safety and security systems, lighting, and upgrades to the existing fire alarm systems and a reconfiguration of the existing elevator.”
The general contractor and electrical contractor was Upstate Companies. The plumbing contractor was Brosh Mechanical Inc. and the mechanical contractor was HMI.
