First Posted: 3/24/2015
ELIDA — After looking for months, the village of Elida finally found a property that “fits” as its future town hall.
On March 16, the village purchased about an acre of land on Kiracofe Avenue, on which it plans to build a new town hall.
The village’s current town hall, located at 200 N. Main St., has been in use for more than 100 years and it’s “falling apart at the seams,” said Elida Mayor Kim Hardy.
“It’s just getting into disrepair,” he said. “Really it’s a structure I would say would cost you more than it was ever worth to try bring it back to life.”
The village has been looking for land to build a town hall on for a year to a year and a half, Hardy said.
Elida bought three lots on Kiracofe for $160,000 from Michael and Nancy Greeley, according to the Allen County Auditor’s and Allen County Recorder’s websites. Part of the land was the former site of Mike’s Doughnuts, Hardy said.
The land appealed to the village because it’s accessible from state Route 309 and Main Street in Elida, Hardy said.
It’s “more convenient and more centrally located,” he said, which is good, as several residents come to town hall to pay utility bills and deal with other miscellaneous things.
After months of looking, the land “just kind of fell in our laps,” Hardy.
The village has been interested in a new town hall for the past five years, Hardy said, and it has been putting money aside in its general fund for one. The money to pay for the property was from the general fund, which is taxpayer dollars, Hardy said.
The next step is to demolish the two structures on the property, Hardy said, which the village is hoping to complete this year.
After that, it plans to hire architects and start planning the future town hall.
The village hasn’t discussed or decided the fate of its current town hall, Hardy said.
Village employees have been talking about what they need in a new town hall, and Hardy said some of the needs include more space, individual offices and “something that will last.”
“We did a lot of homework and a lot of leg work to find a property that would fit,” he said. “I think it’ll work out very well.”
