Construction

Renovations began in the fall of 1999
The first phase is to clear some surrounding trees. Several years of neglect has allowed the growth of scrub trees
along both banks of the canal, and along the hillside behind the building that are destroying the stone walls of the
canal, and creating a fire and safety hazard on the hill. The canal not only supplies water for the Mill's sprinkler system, but it is also the fire department's primary water source for this section of town.
Phase 1 of our renovations will focus on removing these scrub trees and returning the land to it's prior condition.
An added bonus of this clearing, will be a better view of the night sky.
Update! Tree clearing is progressing slower than originally expected.
The second phase will be the mounting of a robotic dome on the roof, target date Q3 2002
Third and Final phase will be renovations to building to accommodate a permanent dome and
a 12"-18" scope for planetary observations. Target dates are Q3 2002 to Q2 2003
Renovations are expected to take 3-5 years to complete

6/1/1998		The picture left is an angle view of the building facing north west, note the trees to the right in front of the building running along the canal of the old mill complex. These trees obstruct the eastern view of the sky. The tree line behind the building obstruct the western skyline. A group of trees not visible to the left restrict part of the southern sky.
10/15/99		This is the first phase of tree removal. 100ft of the canal has been cleared of the scrub trees. This opens up the eastern skyline when viewed from the building. Once the debris is cleaned up, we will thin out the trees behind the building to open up part of the western view. Several of the larger trees behind the building will require hiring professional tree removers.
10/25/99		A work party patched numerous leaks in the roof. In a few sections a patch was applied to the roof and in other sections the existing roof was coated with a fibered roof coating to seal it. When we are ready to install a dome, the roof will be resurfaced.
12/3/01		Tree clearing is progressing slower than expected. As you can see comparing this picture to the picture taken 10/15/99 the skyline is beginning to open up. The pile of cord wood in front of the building is 72 feet long and 4 feet high. Because of the steep slope of the hill, and it's high moisture content, cutting can only occur during extreme dry periods or when the ground is frozen without snow cover.
1/12/02		Comparing this picture to the 6/1/98 photo above it is clear to see that we are indeed making progress. 7 of the remaining large trees pose a threat to the building should they fall over in a storm and will have to be removed by professional tree experts using a crane. We will however be able to remove a few of the above trees.
1/12/02		This is the accumulated pile of this fall's tree clearing on the hill behind the building. It has been cut down and piled for burning. Any wood large enough to burn in a stove has been cut and stacked on the wood pile.
1/19/02		This is our first burn for the 2002 season. Last year we had three such burns in the spring. All of the brush in the photo taken on 1/12/02 was completely burned during the course of the day. Thanks to everyone that showed up to help.
4/10/02		Spring 2002 has focused on tree clearing on the left side of the building as seen in this picture. The left side of the building has the heaviest tree concentration. In this section, at the top of the hill, we will setup the robodome and an observation platform. One or two additional trees will need to be removed before any work can begin on either project.
4/12/02		This picture taken at dusk shows what will be for the most part, the 2002 summer skyline in the west. Although the are still several large trees behind the building, our thinning process has opened several large viewing windows.
4/21/04		Two groups of trees were removed from the left side of the observatory along opposite shores of the canal.

Project Renovations