Work continues on Monroe's efforts to acquire synagogue for its new town hall

By Bob Quinn
MONROE — The Town of Monroe continues to study and plan for the acquisition of Eitz Chaim Synagogue for municipal offices.
Supervisor Anthony P. Cardone III said the town has received preliminary designs to expand the building.
The purchase price is $2.7 million. The town has extended its lease with Eitz Chaim and Cardone said he expects the deal to be finalized prior to May.
He said he also expects the work to expand the building to accommodate Monroe Town Court facilities will be completed by the fall.
There are no immediate plans for the DeAngelis Building at Lake Street when the court is moved to Orange Turnpike.
But Cardone said the closed town hall building at 104 Stage Road may be appealing to the Village of Monroe, which the supervisor said wants to expand its court facilities.
The town closed the Stage Road building several years ago because of mold. That has been remediated.
Town Board vacancyMeanwhile, Cardone said as many as eight people have applied for the open vacancy on the town board. The vacancy was created by Cardone’s election in November as supervisor; two years remain in that term.
Cardone said the town board has been vetting the candidates either in person or over the telephone.
Cardone acknowledged the prospective candidate will face a tough road, requiring a six-year commitment.
The appointee will have to run for the office in November to fill a one-year term. Then run again in 2019 to complete entire the term. And then that person would need to run again in 2020 to restart the election cycle for the four-year term.
The next meeting of the Monroe Town Board is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 22, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center.