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East Hartford Town Hall Renovation and Temporary Relocation

Things to Know
Posted on: November 15, 2022 - 1:20pm
East Hartford Town Hall Renovation and Temporary Relocation

East Hartford, CT—After years of wear and tear, the renovation of the East Hartford Town Hall is now necessary to replace essential mechanical systems in the 86-year-old building that have exceeded their useful life expectancy. The goal of the project is to provide Town Hall visitors and personnel a safe, revitalized, and sustainable environment to conduct the business of the Town.

The scope of work includes the replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, modernization of the elevator, new lighting, plumbing and electrical infrastructure, and a new roof.  Among other improvements with environmental benefits is a new natural gas heating system to replace the existing and inefficient oil-burning boilers. Also planned are repairs to the front entrance, replacement of water-damaged ceilings and walls, abatement of hazardous materials, and renovation of the public bathrooms. 

Please know, the project scope includes the temporary relocation of Town departments within Town Hall. All Town departments will temporarily relocate to the Community Cultural Center at 50 Chapman Place for the duration of construction, except for the Town Clerk’s Office, which will move to a temporary office in front of Town Hall to enable continued access to the Town vault. 

Additionally, the Social Services Department will permanently move to the Community Cultural Center at 50 Chapman Place in December of 2022 as part of this project.

The relocation of Town departments to the Community Cultural Center will take place in phases starting in mid-December, 2022 and continuing into early January, 2023. Construction work at Town Hall will begin on January 9, 2023 and will conclude mid-January, 2024. 

  • TOWN DEPARTMENTS TO BE RELOCATED DURING RENOVATIONS

All Town Hall departments will be relocated to a temporary office space for the duration of the renovation project. Town Hall departments will occupy “temporary swing space” on the lower level of the Community Cultural Center located at 50 Chapman Place. The Town Clerk’s office will remain at Town Hall located at 740 Main Street in a temporary trailer located in front of Town Hall.

Town departments unaffected by the renovations project include Police, Fire, Public Works, Library, EH Works, Youth Services, WIC and the Parks & Recreation departments. These departments will remain at their existing locations with NO disruption to the services they provide.

During the relocation, to ensure Town departments are moved efficiently and have had time to prepare to resume services in their new space there will be no or limited service to the public during the following posted times.

  • PHASE (1) MOVE – DECEMBER 2022

On the following dates, the listed Town Hall departments will be moving to the Community Cultural Center at 50 Chapman Street – with the exception of the Town Clerk’s office, which will remain on current Town Hall property.

  • Town Clerk’s office will move to a business trailer on Friday, December 16, located outside the front of Town Hall at 740 Main Street. Town Clerk’s Office will be closed to the public starting Thursday, December 15 at 4:30 PM and through Monday, December 19 at 12:00 PM.
  • Effective January 9, 2023, the Town Clerk's Office hours on Fridays will be amended to 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM until further notice. The Monday-Thursday schedule will remain 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. 

TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE SERVICE CHANGE DURING RENOVATIONS

  • Due to the scope of renovations in the Town Clerk’s vault, public access to the vault will be limited to Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and will be by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please call 860-291-7230. Appointments are only required for viewing records older than 1960s. All records from 1960s and to date have been digitized and are available at this link.  
  • Notary Services will be suspended effective Thursday, December 16, 2022 until further notice.
  • Fishing license service will be suspended effective Thursday, December 16, 2022 until further notice.

All other services will remain accessible to the public in the Town Clerk’s trailer located outside the front of Town Hall.

ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENTS:

  • Tax Collector, Assessor’s, Finance, will move to Community Cultural Center on Friday, December 16, 2022. These departments will be closed to the public starting on Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 4:30 PM and through Monday December, 19 at 12:00 PM. 
     
  • Purchasing, Town Council, Health Department and Voter Registration will move to Community Cultural Center on Friday, December 16, 2022. These departments will be closed to the public starting on Thursday, December 16, 2022 at 4:30 PM and through Monday December, 19 at 12:00 PM.

DEPARTMENT SERVICE CHANGE DURING RENOVATIONS

Tax Collector:

  • December 14, 2022 is the last day for in-person transactions at Town Hall.
  • December 14, 2022 is the last day to use the drop box at Town Hall. Please do not leave cash in the drop box.

The Tax Collector’s Office will resume at the Community Cultural Center on Monday, December 19th at 12:00 PM. However, in-person services will not be available until further notice. The following services will be amended:

  • There will be no cash payments.
  • There will be no in-person credit card payments.

The Town of East Hartford Tax Collector’s Office will remain available and accessible to the public via telephone and/or email:

The following is a list of ways to pay taxes while the Tax Collector’s Office is unable to provide in-person services:

Drop-Box ****NEW LOCATION******

Community Cultural Center

50 Chapman Place

East Hartford, CT

  • The drop-box will be picked up twice daily to expedite clearance for taxpayers (first thing in the morning and by 2:00 p.m. each afternoon).

To obtain DMV Clearance, taxpayers can:

  • Pay by Money Order
  • Pay online and email receipt of payment to tax@easthartfordct.gov. Emailed receipt must show the payment cleared the taxpayers account (to avoid 10-day hold).

Assessor’s Office:

  • The Assessor’s Office will resume online services at the Cultural Center on Monday, December 19th at 12:00 PM. There will be no access to the office by the public until further notice.
  • Taxpayers can continue to contact the office by phone, email, drop box, fax, or mail.
  • All forms, exemptions, reports and declarations are already available online as fillable pdf’s as well as printable at this link.
  • Please see the Assessor’s Office webpage at www.easthartfordct.gov/assessor for any and all changes to the services that will affect the public in order to ensure taxpayers are informed.
  • Adjustments to Motor Vehicles can be processed through email, fax, mail, or using the drop-box located at the Community Cultural Center. Forms and documents can be found by contacting our office at 860-291-7260 or referring to the Assessor’s webpage.

Exemptions Programs. In-person assistance options available.

  • Elderly Exemptions: Forms and documents can submitted via email (Assessor@easthartfordct.gov), fax, mail and drop box from February 1, 2023 through May 15, 2024.
  • Staff from the Tax Assessor’s office will be available in-person on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-4:30 PM at the Senior Center at 15 Milbrook Drive to assist elderly taxpayers with in-person processing of the Elderly Exemption forms. Appointments are not required on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Senior Center.
  • In-person assistance for the Elderly Exemption applications outside of Mondays and Wednesdays is available by appointment only at the Community Cultural Center located at 50 Chapman Place, East Hartford. Please contact the office at (860) 291-7260 or via email at Assessor@easthartfordct.gov for an appointment.
  • Veterans Exemption: This program runs concurrently with the Elderly program from February 1, 2023 through May 15, 2024 and will be accessible through the same process as well as through mail, email, fax and drop box.
  • Blind/Disabled Exemption: This program also runs concurrently with the Elderly and Veteran Exemptions and will also be available in the same process as well as through mail, email, fax and drop box prior to October 1, 2023.
  • Income and Expense Reports will be processed through mail, email, drop box and fax.
  • Personal Property Declarations and Exemptions are due by November 1, 2023 and will be processed through online filing, mail, email, fax or drop box.
  • Board of Assessment Appeals

PHASE (2) MOVE – JANUARY 2023

On the following dates, the listed Town Hall departments will be moving in January of 2023 to the Community Cultural Center at 50 Chapman Place:

  • Engineering, Building Department, Development, Grants, Mayor’s Office, Human Resources, and Corporation Counsel will move on Friday, January 6, 2023. These departments will be closed to the public starting on Thursday, January 5 at 4:30 PM through Monday, January 9 at 12:00 PM.
  • Probate Court will relocate to 50 Chapman Place on Friday, January 6. For specific service changes and hours of operation, please call 860-291-7278.
  • Social Services Department will move to the Cultural Community Center located at 50 Chapman Street PERMANENTLY on Friday, January 6, 2023.  Social Services Department will be closed to the public on Thursday, January 5, 2023 through Monday, January 9 at 12:00 PM.

TOWN SERVICES AND MEETINGS DURING RELOCATION OF DEPARTMENTS

In order to minimize service disruptions to the general public during the move dates, the Town is asking the public to utilize as many online services as possible during this time in order to allow Town Departments to get settled into their new temporary space. Many online services for Town Hall departments can be found on the Town’s website at www.easthartfordct.gov.

PUBLIC MEETINGS: DECEMBER 2022 – JANUARY 2024

The following public meetings will be held at the Community Cultural Center auditorium located at 50 Chapman Place starting January 2023 through the duration of the renovations.

  • Boards and Commissions: The Following Boards and Commissions will hold their regularly scheduled meetings at the Community Cultural Center from January 2023 through the end of renovations:  Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Inlands Wetlands commission.
  • Town Council: Starting January, 2023, Town Council meetings will move to the Community Cultural Center. Meetings will remain available in person or virtual via Microsoft teams.

MAILING ADDRESS/ PHONE NUMBER/ DEPARTMENT LOCATIONS

The physical mailing address will remain 740 Main Street, East Hartford 06108 for all Town Hall departments for the duration of the renovations project. To access a full listing of all Town Hall departments, contacts, temporary location and phone numbers, please visit the Town website at www.easthartfordct.gov.

TOWN HALL DOCUMENT DROP BOX: The Town Hall document drop box and election ballot box services will be available at Town Hall for the Town Clerk’s office only. The document drop box for all other departments will be available and at the Community Cultural Center located at 50 Chapman Place. The drop boxes currently located at Town Hall in the north parking area will be relocated to the north side of Firehouse 1, adjacent to the temporary Town Clerk trailer and to the Community Cultural Center at the end of business on December 14, 2022. The use of drop box services will resume Monday, December 19th, 2022.

PUBLIC PARKING

General and handicap public parking is available on site of the Community Cultural Center located at 50 Chapman Place. Additional Cultural Center parking is located in the lot adjacent to Alumni Park.

Please monitor the town website at www.easthartfordct.gov for further updates.