Gunnedah Shire Council will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the Town Hall because of increasing structural issues.
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Almost $11,000 will be reallocated from parks and gardens' operational expenses to fund a structural engineer's report after a unanimous vote at Wednesday's council meeting.
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In a report to council, public facilities manager Ashley Gardner said staff had noticed more damage because of the ongoing drought and recent rainfall.
"Significant cracking in the structure, internally and externally has been noted, as well as various areas seeing roof leaks in rain events," she wrote.
"The original internal staircase has been taped off to stop access as the movement in the building has affected the safety of its use. Initial discussions with a structural engineer have revealed the original foundations may have exceeded their life expectancy.
"The original structure was also not built to support a clock tower, and it is the engineer's assumption that this has resulted in the mortar between the brick foundations fracturing under the weight of the tower. The foundations would need repair works to stop the issue from becoming worse, followed by internal work."
Mrs Gardner said maintenance had been carried out over the years but the recurring issues were now "notably worse" and a full report was needed. The building is more than 120 years old.
The push for an assessment was supported by councillors, including Rob Hooke who said, "This needs to be done and it needs to be done urgently".
Cr Colleen Fuller said the hall was one of Gunnedah's "most important buildings" and "we need to get it right".
An engineer and a builder will undertake facade and roof inspections, concrete ultra sounds, and some minor excavation of footings to diagnose any issues.
When the report is complete, it will be presented to council to inform a suitable restoration program.
Council's infrastructure services director Jeremy Bartlett said the parks and garden budget was underspent because there had been two vacant positions and less mowing to do before the recent rainfall.
The town hall is also part of the council's plans to redevelop the cultural precinct.