Grange and FCCGH joint meeting: discussion of paint/siding options for the Grange Hall

January 7, 2023:

We held a joint meeting of the Grange and the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall (FCCGH), following a brief review of current Grange finances and progress on the installation of the wheelchair lift, currently taking place.   This project scope also includes a few Fire-Marshal required changes:  replacing the wall between the Old Entrance foyer with a fire-rated wall and new double-doors, including a closet to store tables, opening from the Main Hall, plus adding height to the Old Entrance porch railings and adding graspable hand-rails to the Old Entrance stairs.

Grange Hall siding discussion

We also discussed options to scrape, repair and/or replace our existing exterior siding on the Grange Hall, which has been peeling for years.    Patty Giavara, Chair of the FCCGH presented information on a potential grant funding source that could help to pay for one of the options, thanks to our being found eligible for “historic building” status.  We were talking about long-term choices, that we hope will reduce the maintenance costs for the exterior of the building.   We appreciate the dozen or so people who came to the meeting in person, or via ZOOM!

For more information:  contact Tim Swartz:  swartztim15@gmail.com

We’ll be happy to have others who want to get involved in the work of comparing and evaluating the different approaches we can take, in terms of factors including (order of importance TBD):

• Appearance
• Cost–initial
• Availability of grant funding
• Long-term maintenance costs
• Frequency of maintenance to be expected
• Environmental impact