Troy’s city council will hold its initial vote to relocate city hall tonight.
The council’s Republican-majority council will vote tonight on a measure approving the former Proctor’s Theater as the new home for city hall.
The plan is intended to save taxpayer dollars. First-term Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello says the city currently pays roughly $761,000 in monthly rent, fees, and utilities with a 3 percent annual increase. She says moving into the former theater would save the city more than $100,000 a month with costs estimated to be $650,000, including maintenance. The administration estimates acquisition and renovation costs to remain below $10.5 million.
“The City of Troy deserves better than the “city floor,” and that's not just pride, that's accessibility,” Mantello said.
The new location is more centrally located, would enhance the local economy, and will be ADA compliant and more accessible for all residents, Mantello says.
Council President Pro Tem. Thomas Casey, a Republican, says the plan to preserve the historic theater is better than the alternative.
“I just think it's truly the difference between a wrecking ball or a new city hall,” Casey said.
Casey recently resigned from the Troy Local Development Corporation, who purchasing the fourth street property, after criticism from council candidates and the council minority. Casey says he resigned so his ethics aren’t questioned.
Councilor Ryan Brosnan of District 2 has been the only Republican on the council to question the administration over the move. He says he is unconcerned over the finances related to the move or the legislation being introduced tonight.
“As long as we're not trying to make any final decisions before we get the price tag, at least, we should know more before we make a final decision, but this moves the process along further into getting concrete numbers so that we can make an informed decision,” Brosnan said.
Brosnan says residents should know, this resolution is non-binding.
“There's no financials being spent like no one, no one has signed a contract. We're not locked into this, even if we pass this tonight, it's just a resolution, kind of stating our intent.”
The administration has already signed a letter of intent but must still present a lease agreement and a land development agreement to the city council.
But not all are onboard with the plan. Council President Sue Steele says the administration is ramming the legislation through, since the resolution was only placed on the agenda two days ago, and hasn’t provided the council with enough information to vote on any measures relating to the move.
“I don't expect any pushback from the majority. Certainly, the minority has lots of questions, and we have lots of reasons for not supporting this right now. It's not that we don't think Troy deserves a city hall, of course, but the timing has to be right, and the finances have to make sense, and neither one of those are right at this time. We don't know what the finances are going to be,” Steele said.
Steele is concerned that the city, which only recently climbed out of decades of state-supervised debt, will fall back in the hole.
