Vernon Municipal Departments Moving On Up To Renovated Citizens Block Building

VERNON, CT — The town departments that had been housed at 55 West Main Street have begun moving to the newly renovated Citizens Block building on Park Place.

Some services from those departments may not be available
during the move.

The building at 55 West Main has been the home of the fire marshal and the building, planning and development, engineering and economic development departments.

Those departments were closed Thursday for the move into the historic Citizens Block.

"Moving these town departments to Citizens Block is the final step in years-long plan to make access to all municipal departments more convenient for our residents," Mayor Dan Champagne. said. "Citizens Block is a modern building that will enable our employees to more efficiently serve the community."

Citizens Block will also house youth services, the probate court and a community meeting room. Youth services moved in last week and the probate court will move on Feb. 5.

Normal operations are expected to resume next week.

"We will move this transition along as quickly as we can to ensure the best service possible to the
residents of Vernon," Town Administrator John Kleinhans said. “We thank the public for its patience.”

Citizens Block dates back to 1879 and it underwent a lengthy renovation and reconstruction to provide office space for a variety of town departments and the probate court while also rehabilitating a long-vacant building. Work was completed late last year.