Gearing up for Old Town Hall projects

Now that we know a new year doesn’t exactly mean a clean slate, it’s time to get down to business.

Most of you already know that rejuvenation of Old Town Hall is one of my favorite obsessions. The Old Town Hall Rejuvenation Society has managed to make quite a bit of progress in the past few years, with some amazing assistance from the Odessa Chapter of FBLA.

The front steps have been repaired, the dining room has been painted, the kitchen got a facelift, there is a new weather resistant coating on the roof, and the windows have all been replaced.

Old Town Hall turned 100 as the calendar turned to the new year.

The first event held in the building was on New Year’s Eve 1920. Because of the pandemic, we were unable to celebrate that occasion. Instead, we plan to have a party in late 2021 to celebrate the 101st birthday of Odessa’s Old Town Hall. It would be wonderful if we could have the exterior repaired and repainted by that time.

There are cracks in the exterior cement stucco that should be repaired. There are also the small faux balconies on the east and west sides of the building near the front that are gradually crumbling away. The canopies over the side doors need to be replaced. After the repairs are made, the exterior should be painted with an elastomeric stucco paint that should provide years of protection.

We have a committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 19 at 7 p.m. If I read the COVID-19 restrictions correctly, we may have up to 6 people at the meeting. That is pretty much the size of the existing committee, so I’m not comfortable inviting others to attend. I am inviting you to give me a call or text at (509)988-0085 if you have ideas, suggestions or would like to volunteer in any capacity. We could use project coordinators, general contractors, designers, carpenters, handymen, grant writers, or probably just about anyone who can stand up and say “here!”

Let’s get the old girl a new party dress.