After 31 years, the Town Council held its final meeting in the Upland Town Hall on Oct. 7.
Council meetings have taken place in the Town Hall building since 1994, standing at the heart of local government and community life, Town Manager Jonathan Perez said.
“In these walls countless citizens have shaped the growth, safety and future of Upland,” Perez said.
Town Hall is moving because of the public library’s expansion. The hall will be closed Oct. 16 and 17, and will reopen in the old STAR Financial Bank by Oct. 20. The Nov. 4 Town Council meeting will convene temporarily in the Upland Community Building.
“During this time the drop box will still be available for payments at the current Town Hall,” according to the Town of Upland Facebook.
During the council meeting, Police Marshal James Cassidy gave police updates, the council members voted on opioid litigation, discussed a new security system for the Upland Community Building and expressed gratitude for the historic Upland Town Hall.
Scammers have been using names of Grant County police officers, threatening residents in the county, Cassidy said. A scam caller claimed to be a part of the Grant County Sheriff's Department, telling an Upland resident she missed jury duty. The caller said if the resident did not pay the $2,000 fine, she would be facing a federal offence.
The caller wanted the Upland resident to pay over the phone, but the woman wanted to first verify with her local police. When Cassidy called the scammer’s number, the caller immediately hung up.
Cassidy called again and the caller claimed to be from the Sheriff's Department.
“Police are not going to threaten you to pay them a fine or we're going to come and arrest you,” Cassidy said. “We're just never going to do that.”
He said scammers want people’s personal information to access something like a bank account.
Clerk-Treasurer Mary Fletcher said several opioid settlements have been taking place, including Purdue Pharma and other drug companies. She received an email from Maura Hoff, the Upland town attorney, suggesting the council make a verbal vote to participate in future opioid litigation which is used for treating substance abuse.
Upland has had an opioid problem in the past, Council President Shawn Sizemore said. There have been several meth labs in the town limits. Thanks to the hard work of the county and town, the meth labs were quickly dismantled.
The town is also testing a new security system with Verkada for the Upland Community Building, Fletcher said. In the past, there has been vandalism around the playground and community building.
By Oct. 15, the security surveillance will be tested to see where it would be most effective, Fletcher said. By the next council meeting, she hopes to have an update on how much the surveillance will cost.
The members voted Halloween hours on Friday, Oct. 31 to be from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The meeting concluded with clapping, ending the 31 years inside the Upland Town Hall.
“This is kind of a surreal moment that this is going to be the last council meeting here in this building,” Sizemore said.
He looked forward to having a new council chamber.
But, over the last 31 years the Upland Town Hall has been the place where previous council members made decisions up until this point, he said.
“So thank you to all those who served prior to us,” Sizemore said. “Thank you to all the community that have attended all those meetings and given your input. It's greatly appreciated, and look forward to continuing that as we move forward.”
