By Derek Wilson
Marinscope
The Corte Madera Town Hall building has gone through several minor renovations during nearly a century of service to the community. The town might have outgrown the building as it is, however, without a major renovation.
The 5,447-square foot building is just a little too close quarters for the 19 full- and part-time employees who work inside. Five more employees work in a temporary trailer in a parking lot between Town Hall and the fire department. The wiring and the wifi in the town hall offices could use updating, according to some employees and visitors. The Town Council chambers — before Covid, as anyone might remember — were often overcrowded when hot-button topics were on the agenda for public meetings. These days, public meetings are held on the internet.
One of the next big agenda items to appear on Zoom will be a discussion regarding a major remodel of the Town Hall building. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.
The building was originally built in 1931 as a fire station, and was given a new life as Corte Madera Town Hall in 1966.
To make sure the building remains useful, city staff in December 2018 turned to Kappe Architects for ideas for a remodel. In 2019, there were a series of group meetings and a community workshop to develop ideas for the form and function of a remodeled building. The current building will remain, but with significant changes to update the facility and expand it with an addition.
The proposed project includes remodeling the existing two-story town hall building inside and out, as well as a 7,600 square foot addition on the east side of the building toward the parking lot where some employees currently work in trailers.
The council chambers are nearly empty during meetings these days, with broadcasts on Zoom or through a camera on the back wall. When there were meetings to crowd the chambers, before Covid, the room could be uncomfortable and overheated — especially during lengthy business reports. The project would ease some of that by expanding the council chambers to accommodate approximately 95 people.
The new ADA compliant 11,900 square foot space would also house a new permitting center, offices for the departments of Building and Planning, Public Works, Code Enforcement, Administration and Finance. and an outdoor plaza.
The proposal for the project states: “When completed, the project is intended to create a more resilient, functional, and inviting community asset that will serve the Town for the next 50-100 years.”
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