After reading her bicentennial proclamation, the mayor told the crowd of nearly 100 people that she was making restoration of the building a major goal for the year.

The building has been painted and cleaned, but it is showing its age, she said.

Waller said she had appointed Veronica Gil Seaver to head the 22 Main St. Restoration Committee that would oversee the fundraising. She will be joined by six others who have expressed an interest in becoming involved, the mayor said.

To kick off the campaign, Waller presented Seaver a check in the amount of $500.

Seaver said she was ``excited about bringing the building back.’’

She mentioned that she had gone to Kindergarten in the building and that she was hoping to involve the entire community in the campaign.

Seaver said her late husband Bob collected old postcard views of the village it always bothered him that some architectural features of the building had been removed.

She said knowing how interested he was in the building, she thought it would be a good project in which to become involved and spoke to the mayor about it.

Seaver said she believes in restoration and wants to see it done correctly.

``They’ve taken things away that need to be put back,’’ she said.

Maintenance is the key to caring for any old building and the village will also have to plan for that once restoration work is completed, she said.

Waller said Tuesday morning that she had not established a firm goal for the fundraising.

In 2004, the village commissioned a study of the building by Crawford and Stearns, Architects and Preservation Planners, from Syracuse.

At the time, their report estimated much of the work needed could be accomplished for $250,000, but, they described the figure as preliminary.

Waller said last year when the village went to bid for a new roof and skylight renovation, the cost was over $650,000.

``We’ll do the best we can and hit the priorities starting from the roof down,’’ she said. ``I hate to see it fall into disrepair. We’ll start from scratch and see where it goes.’’

The mayor said she had spoken with Assemblyman Bill Magee and Senator James Seward, who assured her they would do what they could to set aside some money in the coming state budget.

A $50,000 state grant from Magee, originally intended to help fund a public restroom facility on Main St., has been approved for redirection to the building project.

The village, Waller said, can do without the restrooms after the Hall of Fame installed additional public facilities.

Treasurer Mary Ann Henderson said the village currently has a little less than $200,000 in a capital reserve fund for village buildings. The fund was set up for all village buildings, not just the municipal building, Henderson pointed out. The use of any of those funds is also subject to permissive referendum.

The report compiled by Crawford and Stearns details the then current condition of the 19,000 square foot structure built in 1899. It also makes recommendations for the stabilization, restoration and maintenance of the building.

``Upon approaching the building, a whole series of maintenance and preservation issues become evident. Deteriorated paint, on exterior and interior surfaces, suggests that water and excessive moisture is present in many of the building systems where it is not desired,’’ the report states.

According to the report, the most expensive work will be associated with the six glass skylights in the roof. Roof water management and masonry work account for another large part of the cost.

Seaver suggested that anyone interested in becoming involved in the campaign contact her.

She said she will be meeting with village attorney John Lambert to discuss the possibility of setting up a not-for-profit fund-raising organization.