The Peru Gazette

By John T. Ryan

After what appeared to be a pause, restoration or at least stabilization of the Town’s Lyon Street School is continuing. At the regular May 25^th Town Board meeting, Peru Town Counselors accepted a Rob’s Repair bid of $3191.20 to repair and paint the school’s bell tower and bell. Contractor Rob Timmons completed the work over a few days, so today a refurbished tower and bell are high above the historic school. The work was funded out of the Town Historian’s $5,135 fiscal year 2016 budget.

At the Board’s May 13^th regular meeting Supervisor Peter Glushko asked Town Historian Ron Allen to furnish a detailed comprehensive plan for any future repairs to the building.   Glushko said he would like to budget future expenses rather than take them from the historian’s budget.

Last week Glushko told The Peru Gazette that he voted to approve the bell tower/bell repair because it had to be accomplished prior to installing the already purchased metal roofing. Counselor Jim Langley has indicated the town may be able to obtain outside funding for the roof installation once a firm price is established. Supervisor Glushko would like to have the Town’s contract engineer Peter Gibbs assess the building’s needs prior to making any expenditures beyond the roof installation. In addition to determining renovation/repair costs, the Town has yet to determine the ultimate use of the building.