Location of town hall to change

The Town of Urbanna will not be purchasing the current town hall building at 390 Virginia St. Instead, the town council plans to purchase another building as a new town hall, said Mayor Bill Goldsmith this week.

At its meeting on Sept. 25, 2025 the Urbanna Town Council voted unanimously to  authorize Mayor Goldsmith to finalize a purchase agreement  for a new town hall and to authorize him to execute the agreement.

The location of the building was not disclosed.

Moving on

At last week’s meeting, Goldsmith read this statement: “As you know, the council has been seeking to buy a building to serve as a new town hall. We had hoped to purchase this building, but unfortunately, this is not to be. 

“In the best interest of the town, we (town council) have identified another option that we think will save the town money and meet the needs of the citizens and staff. Council would like to move forward with this (new) option and perform due diligence. Closing will occur before the end of the year and hopefully the town operations move will occur early next year.”

Goldsmith said this week he hoped the current town hall owner will continue to rent the current town hall to the town until the other town hall is ready. 

Plans

On April 25, 2024, the town council approved a resolution to purchase the building for $1.1 million.

The plan was for the town to rent the front part of the building to a client who was already occupying the building. This would have reduced the town’s costs to about $600 a month, according to the town council meeting packet for the April 25, 2024 meeting.

Non-negotiable

During the process, Goldsmith said several legal issues were raised by the seller, particularly the CC&Rs and indemnification of the seller, which the town could not accept. The town council was advised by the seller’s attorney that the terms of the proposed contract were non-negotiable.

Mayor Goldsmith’s state-ment of September 2024 continues: “Thus, the Town of Urbanna’s leadership has made a decision that we feel is in the best long term interest of the town and its citizens. Specifically, the town has advised the seller through appropriate channels that it could not agree to the terms of sale as recently proposed. As a result, the town has ceased activities concerning the purchase of the property.    

“This is not the outcome we were working towards. It is not what we believe the owners wanted either. They have always been supportive and generous to the town. The Town Council holds them in high regard and appreciates their willingness to work with us in this matter. The town is grateful to the owners for their willingness to continue the rental agreement on an interim basis,” the mayor said.

In the ensuing year since the town council notified the seller that the town could not accept the conditions being placed on the building and land parcel, the town hired another attorney in an attempt to negotiate the terms with the seller. But, an agreement could not be reached.