(2/15) The Carroll Valley Borough Building Working Group will be seeking options to deal with a Borough Hall the mayor once described as "falling apart."

Borough Mayor Ronald J. Harris told the borough council at their February 12 meeting that the working group has developed a list of options regarding how to deal with the aging town office.

The local government and police have been housed in the building at located at 5685 Fairfield Road for "25 years at least," Harris said.

The working group has identified four major options regarding the fate of the borough building, and will be putting a bid proposal out for a contractor to review each option and determine the viability and feasibility of each, and the timeframes involved.

The four options to be assessed include:

• Renovation of the existing building;
• Construction of a new town office in Carroll Valley Commons, accompanied with the demolition or refurbishment the existing structure;
• Construction of a new town office in the Ranch Section of the Borough; and
• Purchase a building which already exists in the borough and refurbish it to the needs of the government and law enforcement.

Harris said the working group hopes to have the assessment completed in time to present to the council at their march meeting.

The building initially housed a snack bar in the 1960s, which had reportedly been initially constructed in association with a putt-putt golf course, according to Harris.

The borough, which was incorporated in 1974, acquired the snack bar and made it their borough office in 1977. In 1987, the building was expanded to include the public meeting room. However, an initial expansion may have also occurred earlier and might have included the main hallway, bathrooms and the police squad room.

Harris previously presented the council with photographs revealing damage to the structure caused by weather and age that has accrued over time, which included roof leakage.

The council, by unanimous consent, agreed to establish a building committee at their October 2012 meeting to evaluate options regarding what could be done to address existing and potential future damages.