Elected officials from local, county, state and national levels spoke on Sunday to celebrate the ribbon cutting for the completed Village of Pelham Municipal Center at 200 Fifth Avenue and the 50th Anniversary of the merger of the Village of Pelham and the Village of North Pelham.
Deputy Mayor Mike Carpenter introduced the event, saying the new Municipal Center reflects the village’s values and will help bring local government closer to the community. He said with bad headlines at the national level, it’s essential to pause and see the Village of Pelham’s constructive, inclusive and forward-thinking local government.
Before the center was built to bring together all village departments, the old fire house had structural failures, the old Village Hall on Sparks Avenue was not easily accessible and the police department operated out of rented space in Pelham Town Hall.
County Legislator Terry Clements said the new building “represents a collective vision for a thriving future,” and dedicated it to serving the people of Pelham. She said the new Municipal Center allows for efficiency, accessibility and collaboration between departments, as well as encouraging people to engage with their local government.
“There’s nothing like being able to do something in and for your hometown,” said Patrick Normoyle, a village resident and the real estate developer who spearheaded construction of the center.
Under a package deal the village struct with the development team led by Normoyle, the developers paid for building the Municipal Center in exchange for village land—the old fire house and a parking lot—and zoning breaks for a rental building they are putting up across the street on Fifth Avenue.
Mayor Chance Mullen gave historical context to the celebration, quoting the town supervisor in 1975 about the merger of the Village of Pelham and the Village of North Pelham: “It’s only a dream, but I think we can do it.”
According to Mullen, in 1975, there was a recession, 9% unemployment and the old Village of Pelham, with a small population of 2,000 residents, had a great deal of debt, while the Village of North Pelham did not have the same borrowing problem because of its larger population of 5,000 people. While there were disagreements about whether the merger should even be voted on, it eventually did happen, and the two municipalities merged to become today’s Village of Pelham.
If the two villages were still separate today, taxes would be 68% higher than they are right now, said Mullen.
“The same spirit of partnership made” the Municipal Center possible, said Mullen. “The winners of our work are us and people over the next fifty years who will benefit from it. Whatever challenges the future faces, they’ll face them here.”
Congressman George Latimer called the building an example of what happens when the government, private sector and citizens put a project first rather than focusing on political rhetoric: “This is what we ought to be doing in Washington. You see a problem, you find a way to fix it.”
