Newport to spiffy up Town Hall building

By ARCHIE MOUNTAIN
NEWPORT — Plans call for the Town Hall (Opera House) to be spiffied up over the next 12-18 months.

Newport Town Manager Hunter Rieseberg, speaking before a crowd of 66 people attending the Newport Sunshine Initiative meeting on May 31, said the town is presently preparing specifications to make major repairs to the historic downtown building.

The list includes replacement of the roofing, the floors and renovation to the tower including the clock and bell.

“Each of these efforts will be done independently of the others but may overlap in terms of actual construction,” Rieseberg said.

The exact cost of these projects are yet to be determined as we are just now beginning to collect proposals for these efforts, he continued.

“Everybody loves this building and we love to take care of it,” Rieseberg emphasized.

The town manager also spoke about the ongoing School to Work program now evolving in cooperation with the Newport School District and the digital initiative to train 20 students in Newport to eventually work remotely in the community in the future.

These programs will give students a path forward, Rieseberg said.

Rieseberg said local businesses are in a severe need of local employment. New England as a whole is losing population and hundreds of jobs are available right now in this community.

“Ruger is pledging to work with us where 19 students will spend the next three or four years there learning skills.” The town manager said Newport is also working with a number of firms in the area to become involved with students.

He praised the effort of the newly-formed Newport Garden Club.

About 160 people showed up, a spectacular number, to participate in a roadside cleanup covering about 80 percent of the town, Rieseberg revealed.

“Downtown is the front door of the community,” he stated. “With this very visible change the garden club will become the unsung heroes of the community.”