The Town and Village of Canton governments look to invest $25M into new government building

CANTON, New York (WWNY) - When the Canton Municipal Center opened in 1964, it was replacing the previous offices which burned down two years earlier.

For 59 years now, both the town and village employees have worked out of the same building, but leaders say the governments both need new, larger space.

“It’s crammed now and that’s exactly why we’re doing this. It’s about the health and safety of the 30 people that work in this building, but it’s also about public health and safety,” said Town of Canton Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley.

The new building will be twice as large as what the offices work out of now and will be built where the former McDonald’s restaurant once stood on Main Street.

As plans for the building come together, both the town and village will focus on how to fund the project.

“It’s a $25 million building right now, so we have to figure out how to fund the entire amount. Whether it’s grants or loans. So, those are the things that we have to do,” said Village of Canton Mayor Michael Dalton.

The two leaders know there are other issues for both the town and village like the water and sewer system, salt storage, and fixing roads, but they say having a new municipal building is important to move forward.

“As with the village, this is a piece of the puzzle but in my view, and I’m one of ten people, this is the core of two governments,” said Ashley.

The new building would also be more accessible to people with disabilities.