HEUVELTON -- The Oswegatchie Town Hall will get $100,000 in “much-needed” repairs through a grant from the state, according to Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Heuvelton.

The 88-year-old town hall, which houses several town offices, still has its original steps at both the front and side entrances. Despite “numerous attempts” to repair them over the last two decades, the steps had been deemed unsafe and need to be completely rebuilt, according to Ritchie’s office.

“It is not easy for any municipality to fix some of the issues with these historic buildings that are such a vital part of what their communities,” the senator said in a prepared statement. “That’s why I think it is so important to help ensure a town like Oswegatchie can save a key part of its past, so it can be key part of its future.”

Of the funding, $50,000 will go toward repairing the steps and replacing sidewalks around the town hall.

“The Town Supervisor and Town Board members appreciate Senator Ritchie’s assistance with this grant,” Bill Dashnaw, the budget director for the Town of Oswegatchie, said in a prepared statement from Ritchie’s office. “Without this grant, the Town Board would have to keep making minor repairs and not make necessary replacements.”

The remaining $50,000 will go towards replacing the town hall’s leaking roof.

The Town of Oswegatchie and City of Ogdensburg had shared office space in the city until a fire burned down the building in 1926. Rather than joining Ogdensburg in the construction of a new, shared building, Oswegatchie voters decided to build their own town hall in the nearby village of Heuvelton. The Oswegatchie town hall opened in 1930, Ritchie’s office said.