City Hall Annex: Remodeling alters services

Remodeling at the City Hall Annex will affect services housed in the building for the next few days.

Beginning after work hours today, partitions in the rear of the first floor will be removed in preparation for replacement with new partitions and reconfiguration of the space. The affected area houses the Recreation Division, Vital Statistics and the WIC program.

The work is projected to be completed by the end of the day Monday, with services expected to return to normal on Tuesday, November 15.

Temporary changes are listed below:

Building Access

Beginning Thursday morning and continuing until the work is completed, access will be through the front door on Watchung Avenue. The main entrance on the side of the building will be closed.

Recreation Division

The Recreation Division will be closed Thursday and Friday [which is Veteran's Day--all city offices will be closed]. If work is finished, Recreation will be open on Monday. Otherwise, Tuesday morning as projected for balance of work.

Vital Statistics

Wedding license applications, birth and death certificates will be available at the entrance counter in the Plainfield Action Services space just off the Watchung Avenue entrance.

WIC

The WIC Coordinator has notified its clients, but services will be available as needed in the Plainfield Action Services conference room just off the Watchung Avenue entrance.

Health Division, PCTV-74, City Engineer

Offices on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Annex -- Health Division, PCTV-74, City Engineer -- will be open as usual, the only change being that access to the building will be through the Watchung Avenue entrance instead of the main entrance on the side of the building.

City Hall Annex was originally built as the world headquarters of the Seventh Day Baptist Church. The area at the rear of the first floor, which is being affected by the remodeling work, was the location of the denomination's printing plant -- which accounts for its high ceiling and large opaque windows. A plaque in the main lobby honors Everett Lattimore, Plainfield's first African-American mayor.

Operated as the Annex since 1991, the building has suffered from deferred maintenance issues for years, with roof leaks reaching critical levels in recent years. Public Works Director Priscilla Castles says work on roof repairs is to begin soon.

Keywords: Plainfield, City Hall, remodeling