Pictured is The Lakewood Village Hall. P-J Photo by Michael Zabrodsky

LAKEWOOD — The long-term preservation of the Village Hall continues.

According to Village Historic Preservation Committee Chairman Ted McCague, in 2014 the village began the comprehensive planning process for long-term preservation of the village’s historic building.

Monday, the Village Board of Trustees heard an update on the process. Recently, McCague said, an application was submitted to to the New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation Office. The application was reviewed and returned by officials. It received an approval, so the the village hall is officially eligible for historic preservation.

“Now that we’re eligible, that means we’re eligible for nomination as a registered historic building for state and national government,” McCague told trustees.

According to the league’s website, preservenys.org, the hall was constructed in 1915 to serve as the first established location for the volunteer Lakewood Hose Company. Over the course of its more than 100 years of continuous operation, the building also functioned as a police station, history museum, community center, and Lakewood’s Village Court.

The village recently was awarded a $13,400 grant from the Preservation League of New York State to study the building.

The village is planning for the building’s next generation of service. Clinton Brown Company Architecture, based in Buffalo, will prepare the Historic Structure Report. The Village will use this Report for planning and funding capital improvement that will retain its historic character and improve its function for Village staff and residents.

New York State Assemblyman Andy Goodell, R-Jamestown said the project has three components. The first, Goodell said, is to evaluate the building’s structual integrity. The second is to evaluate what should be done to maintain its historic character.

League representative Janna Rudler added that the third component is a list to be made prioritizing future maintenance and preservation, and any rehabilitation and renovations that need to be completed.