Town Hall Restoration

The Brighton Town Hall, a one-story shingled craftsman style bungalow, was designed and built in 1914 by local master builder Ben Muncil. Mr. Muncil was a builder of many great camps in the area, including Camp Topridge and White Pine Camp.

The land for the Town Hall, located at the intersection of State Route 86 and Jones Pond Road, was donated by the Paul Smith’s Hotel Company. The building has served solely as the Brighton town hall since its construction in 1914, and is now on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.

In 2003, a citizens’ committee was formed to explore options for restoring and possibly adding a room to the town hall. To start this process, the New York State Council on the Arts provided funds to the Town of Brighton for a Reuse Design and Limited Conditions Assessment Report. This was performed by the preservation architectural firm of Crawford and Stearns in October, 2003, and provided the town with a detailed list of restoration tasks as well as specifications for the proposed addition. The committee determined that to the extent possible, the project would be funded by donations and grants.

Over the ensuing years, planning for the project has continued together with fundraising efforts. In 2010 the town was prepared to perform the construction, but the state’s fiscal crisis early that year put some of the grant funding in doubt and the project had to be suspended. Finally, in 2011 the town was able to move forward. Town resident Chris Alcocer was appointed project manager and construction contracts were awarded to Conroy & Conroy as General Contractor, Hyde-Stone Mechanical for plumbing and heating, and Bill Jabaut Electrical for electrical work. Crawford & Stearns has continued to be project architect.

Renovation of the original building is now complete. Although all the final figures are not in yet, the cost of the project will be approximately $260,000. Most of the funding is being provided by gifts and grants, as follows: private donations of $34,000, legislative member items of $50,000, a Governor’s Grant of $10,000, a state Justice Court Assistance Program grant of $29,000, a Council on the Arts grant of $12,000, and an expected Environmental Protection Fund grant of $117,000.

The proposed addition to the building is being deferred to a later date.