Manlius considers new town hall

TOWN OF MANLIUS – The town of Manlius is exploring the concept of entering into a public/private venture for the development of a new town hall off North Burdick Street.
The developer, Twin Shores Properties, currently has control over six parcels totaling 130 acres across North Burdick Street from Fayetteville Towne Center. The parcels include the two quarry ponds as well as a stretch of Limestone Creek.
Tom Cerio, representing the developer, showed the Manlius Town Board a seven-acre parcel that could house a new town hall. The parcel would be accessed by a new road that would enter the development from Burdick Street and wind between the quarry ponds. Other sections of the property could be developed into single-family housing, multi-family housing and potentially some retail and commercial.
For several years, the town has been studying the viability of a new town hall. The town’s Brooklea Road building in Fayetteville was built in the 1960s and is too small to host both municipal services and the Town of Manlius Police Department. It would also need to be retrofitted to become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Last Wednesday, the board voted 6-1 in favor of allowing town attorney Tim Frateschi to begin negotiations with Twin Shores Properties related to the lease and construction plan. If the board decides in favor of moving ahead on the project, a referendum would be held and voters would decide whether to proceed.
“This resolution is the very initial step to begin discussions about this opportunity,” Frateschi said. “In the end, nothing will get done unless you can convince the people of the town of Manlius that this is a good idea.”
One of the things that seemed very attractive to board members was the financial structure of the deal. For most large construction projects, municipalities borrow the funds for construction in the form of bonds and pay the construction costs over time. In this case, the developer would take on the construction costs and recoup the funds through a long-term lease with the town.
“At the front end, I think it’s very exciting that we could have a brand new building and without going into debt,” said Councilor Heather Waters.
The parcel where the town hall potentially would be located has the northern quarry pond to its west and the Old Erie Canal on its north and Limestone Creek on its east, creating a number of potential recreational opportunities. It would be connected by trails to the village of Fayetteville as well as the canal trail.
Elaine Denton, the sole vote in opposition, said the town needs to do a lot more research about the costs of retrofitting its current building. She also didn’t like that this plan would pull the town hall and the police department facilities out of the villages of Fayetteville and Manlius, respectively, and put them in a more “remote” area of the town.
“In my opinion, we need more information about what we need for our employees and what our community needs,” she said.