Future of Village Hall on the Table

Does Sussex need a new Village Hall? Or should the existing building be remodeled?

Those are just two of the questions a new study group will spend the next year trying to answer.

It's been 20 years since Village Hall — a former school building — was last renovated. A recent architectural and engineering analysis revealed that the structure may be near the end of its useful life, unless the village spends millions for major renovation.

The Village Hall Facility Study Group will analyze the space and operational needs of the village and whether they can be accommodated by a renovation, expansion or replacement of the building at its present site, N64W23760 Main St.

The panel, which will be made up of seven to nine members, also will look at whether the village should acquire or lease space at a different location and renovate it, or even construct a new facility at a different location.

Part of the study will be preliminary estimates of costs for various options once they've been analyzed and narrowed to a manageable number. The panel will present its findings to the Village Board in December 2011.

The group's mission is to provide a seat of village government that will be able to "serve the community's needs for decades to come," said Village President Tony Lapcinski. 

By March, the study group will go over all options it has identified for needs and potential locations. It will then select three to seven for further analysis. By June,  members will prioritize one or two location options for a more detailed analysis.

By November, the panel is expected to choose a recommended option. The village staff will then prepare a detailed report for presentation to the Village Board.

"Village Hall and its future is a very emotional subject," said Lapcinski. "One of the ways to weed out the emotions is to gather facts."

Lapcinski told the Village Board that a well-managed community looks ahead to anticipate and plan for its future needs, rather than putting off or avoiding what may seem a difficult issue.

"And certainly, one of the options may be to do nothing at all at this time," he said.