Town Hall Kitchen Is Critical To Building’s Future

By Kendra Bobowick

How important is the Alexandria Room’s adjoining kitchen in the Edmond Town Hall’s future?

“Very, very,” said Board of Managers Chairman Jay Gill. “That’s the main thing in the town hall’s future and we put a lot of priority in it.”

The industrial kitchen that occupies the 1930s-era building holds potential as a catering facility, for example, but needs a hearty restoration. As municipal offices prepare to relocate in a new town hall at nearby Fairfield Hills, the board now seeks the funding needed to dress the Edmond Town Hall for its future role in town, which includes reestablishing the building as the banquet hall location it once was.

The Mary Hawley Society steering committee has some answers. Established as a fundraising tool, the committee’s members will focus first on the kitchen.

Town Hall Manager Sandra Motyka, who is also on the steering committee, said the kitchen tops the priority list for several reasons. “It’s number one because of its essential stream of revenue.” Invitations for galas, weddings, and banquets that once drew well-dressed partygoers to the Alexandria Room, for example, may again welcome guests.

Although revenue is an important part of keeping the Edmond Town Hall running, Ms Motyka also believes that the identity of the kitchen — and of the entire building — is a matter of nostalgia. She takes this queue from the late Mary Hawley, Newtown’s former benefactress who died in the early 1930s. Based on modern interpretations of her will, Miss Hawley envisioned a community center at Edmond Town Hall.

“Think of all the things Mary Hawley put into it,” Ms Motyka said. She noted the Alexandria Room and accompanying theater stage and kitchen, a movie theater, bowling alley, and two pianos in place because of Ms Hawley’s specifications on the building she bequeathed to the town.

She also left behind the town hall, Hawley School, and C.H. Booth Library with accompanying trust funds.

Ms Motyka also notes an additional sense of purpose in steering town hall forward.

“We need to serve the community,” she said.

Although the steering committee will act as a fundraising engine for the building’s capital projects, money is not the only goal of The Mary Hawley Society. “It’s not just what we need, but what we have to offer. Our mission is not just about the building’s needs, but its role in the community,” Ms Motyka said.

Along with funds, the committee aims to raise awareness. Despite the capital funding requests the managers submit to the town each year, it has often been bumped by more immediate needs, such as the recently installed handicap accessible elevator, maintenance, and heating. “Now the kitchen is at the forefront,” Ms Motyka explained.

A state-of-the-art facility nearly 80 years ago, the kitchen does not meet modern standards.

“Under today’s requirements, much needs to be done,” Ms Motyka pointed out.

Managers so far have received cost estimates for the price of new kitchen appliances, including a ventilation hood. Chairman Jay Gill said, “That is going to be the most important part pf this project.”

Managers do not yet have estimates for the full scope of renovations. The committee has planned a fundraising gala, wine and scotch tasting evening in the Alexandria Room for October 27 from 6 to 8 in the Alexandria Room; tickets are $35 per person. For more information, call 270-4285.