Sept. 3. In what was the shortest Cornelius Town Board meeting in recent memory — just seven minutes — commissioners on Sept. 2 unanimously approved spending $249,800 for a long-term facilities study.

ClarkNexsen, a Charlotte-based architectural firm, will lead the eight-month assessment of Town Hall, as well as the town’s police and fire stations.

Assistant Town Manager Tyler Beardsley said the firm will meet with staff to review operations, growth trends and comparisons with similar municipalities to project future space needs. The study will also develop high-level cost estimates for renovations or a possible expansion of Town Hall and the police department.

For the fire department, options could include:

• A new substation with the current headquarters maintained

• A new headquarters replacing the current station

• Conceptual needs for a third fire station

• A joint police and fire station

The study is expected to begin in the coming weeks and be completed by May 2026. If new facilities are recommended, Beardsley said additional assessments would be required before the board takes action.

Town hall opened in 1999 and the new police station followed in 2002. Fire Station No. 2 on Charles Towne Lane was dedicated in 2000 and the Cornelius-Lemley Station No. 1 opened in 2008.

In parallel, the town is also finalizing a new downtown master plan that is expected to be unveiled to the public in the coming months.