Holley facing $150K in repairs to back wall of building connected to police station

Mayor seeks assistance from state and federal governments

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Village of Holley has made several improvements to its police station in recent years but the back wall of the village-owned building next door is in grave condition, and faces $150,000 in emergency repairs, Mayor Mark Bower said.

HOLLEY – Village officials are facing an unexpected emergency repair on the back wall of the building that is connected to the police station on Thomas Street.

Mayor Mark Bower said the entire back wall of the building that is part of the police station needs to be replaced. The village had a structural engineer and contractor look at the back brick wall and the damage was worse than expected. The extensive water damage was revealed when the beadboard and paneling were removed.

The Village Board was expecting to spend $17,000 to $20,000 on the project, but now it will take an estimated $150,000 to fix the problem.

Bower said he has reached out to offices of Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and Assemblyman Steve Hawley to see if the state and federal governments have any funding to help with an emergency repair. He also is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office in Batavia for financial assistance.

“Significant fractures in the brick wall and even the lintels themselves were so much worse than ever anticipated,” Bower wrote in an April 9 letter to Tenney’s office. “While we had nominally budgeted for labor and materials for the job, we are now facing more extensive repairs likely exceeding 150K.”

The police station is right next to the crumbling wall, but Bower said there is a stable wall separating the two sites and the police department should be able to continue to function at the site in the near future. However, he said the code enforcement officer would be justified in requiring the police department to vacant the premises giving the condition of the back wall to the adjoining property.

Bower said there isn’t an alternative site in the village for the police station if it was forced to leave its police station.

He would like the wall to be repaired as soon as possible. The building is from 1900, Bower said.

The village has made several improvements to the police station since 2022, Bower noted, including a new roof, gutters and downspouts, new fascia, doors and windows. The front of the building was repainted and the back one third of the property also has been repaired, Bower said.

“This is essential to the village operations due to the police station,” Bower said in stating his case for state and federal support for the repairs.