1. Our Town Hall was a former Lakeland School District Elementary School which was put up for sale by the district in 1989. 

2. The Town of Cortlandt government after a successful public referendum vote in 1991 purchased the school for Town Hall office purposes.  The cost was $1.1 million dollars and was paid in full without bonding from a special fund established for a town hall purpose.

3. In my first year as Supervisor, early in 1992, a $ 500,000 5-year note was voted on by the then Town Board to complete necessary improvements before the majority of Town offices could move into our new town hall.  This note is now completely paid and therefore no debt is left on our town hall.

4. Additional renovations over the years have either been paid for by state grants or from annual budget funds.  Once again no debt.

5. The Cortlandt Town Hall is located off Oregon Road on Heady Street and sits on six acres.  The main building is 30,000sq. ft. and has offices for the Supervisor, Town Clerk, Receiver of Taxes, Human Resources, Assessor, Town Attorney,  Engineering, Planning, Comptroller, Code Enforcement, Recreation; as well as, the Town Court and County Police offices.  The smaller building is for Purchasing, Central Supplies and the Department of Technology.

6.  About half of the Town employees (100) work at this location and the others work out of Department of Environmental Services (D.E.S.) operations buildings/garages and the Community Center, Youth Center and Nor-West. 

7. After a one-year renovation period of this former school to make it suitable for town government offices, the move took three days in early December of 1992. 

8. Previously many of these town offices were either spread throughout the community or shared space in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson municipal building.  The Town Court and the Recreation departments are two examples that were located in other areas of town and moved to the Town Hall.  The purpose was to have a central government located in one facility to be more efficient and cost effective to better serve the residents of Cortlandt.  We achieved that goal.

9. Vincent Nyberg who was the Town’s longtime Code Enforcement Director also was a licensed architect and engineer (P.E.).  Therefore, he was the perfect choice to be appointed the project manager of our New Town Hall renovation project.  Vinny did a wonderful job with input from the Supervisor and Town Board, all of the departments and a citizen committee which helped to select color schemes, furnishings, etc.  Our general meeting room is named in his memory.

10. I had the honor of being on the original negotiating team, as a town council member, with the Lakeland School District and the Town administration.  The negotiations began in 1989 and resulted in the Cortlandt community having a beautiful Town Hall to be proud of, to have a central government office building and to add to Cortlandt’s identity.

11. The Town Hall is also historic.  The first wing was a WPA project in the 1930’s.  The original brickwork was preserved.  The second wing was constructed in 1957 and the third in 1974. 

12. Our Town Hall dedication ceremony took place on a Sunday afternoon on December 5, 1992.  There had been a snowstorm the day before but we went forward with the ceremony the next day and had a packed house of about 300 people.  It was a very festive and special day for Cortlandt.

13. I have been privileged to serve as the Town Supervisor who had my first offices in the Croton Municipal Building and being the first Supervisor in our new Town Hall having been sworn in as Town Supervisor on January 1, 1992.  I always knew that this former elementary school recycled into a town hall would serve our community well and it has done just that for twenty-five years.

In closing, one of the best parts of my position as Supervisor is to greet young students and scout groups touring our Town Hall and to talk to them about the importance of local government in our lives.  I always say to them, I hope you will consider public service in your future and perhaps become a Town Supervisor in our lovely Town Hall.  Thank you! 

Linda D. Puglisi