Canton staff to get newer quarters
Jan. 29—CANTON — The Canton governing board authorized spending $105,000 to set up semi-permanent administrative offices on Summer Street.
The funds will pay for grading and gravel for the mostly level area next next to the town garage and will involve bringing in a four-trailer modular set up where the town administrative staff can be in a single location.
The modular pods will be a marked improvement over the current shipping containers scattered across town where the heat system is iffy and water has been frozen on recent mornings, Town Manager Nick Scheuer said.
The town lost between $15 million and $17 million in facilities during the August 2021 flooding, Scheuer told the governing board during a Thursday work session.
Town-owned property that flooded included town hall, the police department, the fire department, the Canton museum, the Colonial Theater and the armory, not to mention the outdoor recreational facilities owned by the town.
The board spent much of the session discussing whether to rebuild, relocate or repair the structures.
"In 2004, it was assumed this was a freak thing," Scheuer said of the back-to-back floods that hit the county. "This time the assumption is that it's more of a new normal."
The new temporary office space is expected to be in ready by mid-March and will include a board meeting room, as well as a place where the town staff can be in a central area.
Currently, the police department has shipping containers on a parking lot off Academy Street, while the part of the staff is in containers next to the Colonial Theater and yet another portion of the staff is in offices at Smathers Square.
