GLENFIELD, New York (WWNY) – In a unanimous vote, the Lewis County Board of Legislators approved buying a former school building to temporarily house some county services.
The old Glenfield Elementary School building was sold by the South Lewis School District last year.
The former elementary school will briefly be home to the Department of Social Services, the Office for the Aging, and Lewis County Community Services.
The departments are relocating until renovations are completed in the old building on Stowe Street.
“Moving out to Glenfield is kind of an opportunity and a challenge for all of us. It’s an exciting time to move. It’s a challenge to figure out how we get there and how we get set up,” said Jennifer Jones, commissioner, Lewis County Social Services.
Jones says the move to Glenfield is an important step toward renovating the old building, long awaited by DSS.
The county plans to start facility renovations later this year.
“It’s met our needs for a very long time, but it’s tired and we really need a renovation,” said Jones.
Lewis County lawmakers found Glenfield Elementary to be the right space to relocate the departments.
While this is a temporary move, Lewis County Manager Ryan Piche says the county has other plans for the building’s future.
“It could be some type of community center; it could be lodging for the tourism industry. There’s a lot of different options for this building going forward,” said Jones.
DSS says its programs will remain as efficient as possible during the transition and it will be rerouting public transportation to Glenfield as needed.
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