Staff report
Two 35-foot beams were slid into place under the floor of Pittsfield’s town hall on Feb. 4. A hole was cut into the side of the building and the basement cleared in order to accommodate the necessary supports. In 2018 the 200-year-old structure was deemed unfit to hold crowds (such as typically gathers on Town Meeting Day). Since then, a committee tasked with the restoration has been hard at work. Phase One of the restoration, which will reopen the hall, is on schedule to be completed by March and is projected to be at least $15,000 under budget.
The town hall committee includes: Architect Herb Kuendig (chairman), Ray Colton, Carl Oertel, Glenn Reinauer, Jeremy Rayner, Mike Moran, and Tim Carter. They sought to keep most of the work “in house” or local to keep the costs down. Nop’s Metal Works, Marble Valley Structural Design, Vermont Concrete Cutters, H&C concrete, and Klein Masonry were among the local contractors that have worked on the project, thus far.
“This day is extra special for one committee member,” wrote Ann Kuendig, Pittsfield Select Board chair and wife of committee chairman Herb Kuendig, in an email to the Mountain Times Feb. 4. “Ray Colton remembers playing basketball in the basement where the work is going on. In fact when the committee took down the dropped ceiling in the basement, the farm implements protecting the light bulbs from any basketball damage were still there!”
