Granby – Although town clerk Deb Hess complained about having a “feng shui moment” over the placement of her small crystal ball, the new Granby town hall opened Tuesday with few hitches.
More than two years after the old town hall was destroyed by a suicidal madman in a fortified bulldozer, the gleaming $3.2 million, red brick structure marks the completion of Granby’s civic center and a symbol of rebirth after disaster.
“Way more good has come out of this than the bad stuff,” said Mayor Ted Wang, proudly showing off the municipal building a block off U.S. 40.
“This” was the bizarre June 2004 rampage by Marvin Hee- meyer. He reinforced a bulldozer and rumbled on a 90-minute path of destruction that targeted town officials and left a dozen buildings in rubble. The last of the damaged buildings to be razed and replaced was the town hall. The 17,000- square-foot space stands in contrast to the modern glass- and-steel library across the street. The two formerly shared cramped quarters.
“We wanted to have a civic center where, in a sense, you could do one-stop shopping,” Wang said. “The whole idea is for a gathering place that people will use.”
To that end, the town council chambers – including its state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment – can be reconfigured and is intended to be used by community groups. An unfinished basement could become public meeting rooms. A “massive power outlet” will allow for art fairs and concerts in the space in front of the building.
Even before Heemeyer took out his ire over the town’s approval of a cement plant, Granby had been suffering growing pains in the old town hall. “We were crammed in there like sardines,” Wang said.
The library board had been contemplating moving out of the shared space. While that would have freed up some space for municipal business, the town has been growing at about 7 percent annually, and with the formation of a fledgling police department two years ago, even that quickly would have been insufficient.
After the rampage, town offices were moved to a cramped rental unit in a public storage facility, and it wasn’t until last week that employees began moving into the new building.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re pleased,” said Ed Rafferty, the mayor pro tem.
Hess, who reclaimed the crystal ball from her old office, which was damaged in the bulldozer rampage, quickly added the touches that made the place homey, including a series of small statuettes on the windowsill and a small fishbowl on her desk – albeit without the beta that normally swims there.
“He’s not feeling well today,” she said, explaining in feng shui terms how the new place didn’t feel just right yet without him.
