Date: Fri 24-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Edmond-Town-Hall-rood

Full Text:

A Back Door Solution To A Safety Problem

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Jean Salvatore of the town clerk's office arrived at work Monday morning to

find the front doors of Edmond Town Hall locked.

She had been away on vacation for two weeks prior and there had been talk

about the town's interest in purchasing the vacant Gordon Fraser building on

South Main Street. Could the town have already moved its offices down the

street?

Not quite. Actually, the doors had been locked to keep town hall goers from

entering through the main entrance. Scaffolding for the building's continuing

roof project had been removed the week before and town officials were

concerned that this could cause a safety hazard. With doors locked, people

were banging to get in all day, unaware that the side entrances were open.

Eventually, Clark Kathan put up signs outside, directing people to find a side

entrance.

One purpose of the scaffolding had been to protect people from falling

objects. It was removed before the project was completed to accommodate a

wedding reception at town hall this past weekend.

Michael Doherty of Andover, Mass., and Natasha Reznik of Naugatuck were

scheduled to be married last Saturday. Just a week before, however, the couple

spotted the scaffolding around the front of the building and requested that it

be removed. They were hoping to avoid having to make their guests walk through

a construction site in order to reach the reception in the Alexandria Room.

The apparatus was removed and the reception went on as scheduled.

There have been other events scheduled at town hall since the scaffolding went

up, but no one "made as much of a stink," explained Marcy Becker, of the town

hall board of managers office.

The front doors at town hall are only locked while the construction crews are

working. The doors are re-opened at night for movies.