Ben Nandy

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Jul 16, 2024, 6:30 PM

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Updated

Cornwall officials are trying to keep the town's two main places to cool off open as its infrastructure shows its age.

Munger Cottage – the town's popular community center – is closed through Wednesday because the building's HVAC system could not bring the inside temperature down to a comfortable level. All daytime activities at Munger Cottage were canceled.

For those who were hoping to use the cottage to cool off, the town is promoting cooling centers at local libraries.

The pool, which town officials said is nearly 80 years old, is also struggling in the heat. The town rushed to fix a chlorination mechanism that failed Monday to reopen it by Tuesday morning. Town Supervisor Josh Wojehowski told News 12 the heat likely played a role in the breakdowns at both facilities.

"You have high temperatures and you have really old crumbling infrastructure," he said during a phone interview Tuesday morning. "[You have] extreme weather and temperatures, which tend to expose things and break things."

The town is seeking grants to update the pool and other facilities, Wojehowski said, and is funding an emergency repair to the Munger Cottage's HVAC system. That could be finished in one week.

The Munger Cottage closure pains the town's Recreation Director Phylis Murphy because of the inconvenience to local seniors who rely on it.

"This is a space they love to be in…and do activities in," she said. “But everybody's really understanding because things happen."

Several residents told News 12 that the lack of maintenance of the facilities goes back decades and that current town officials are scrambling to bring them up to par.

"I think it's just a normal aging thing," Karen Parashkevov said as she was leaving the library. "As much as maintenance happens, it's just a continuous process."

Local libraries will remain designated cooling centers on Wednesday.

Wojehowski said he also coordinated with the Cornwall village government to use Village Hall as a cooling center during the evening hours, and even overnight if necessary.