Community:PaxLair/Town Hall

The Town Hall in PaxLair is a building serving as the seat of the local government of the player town PaxLair. It has been used for several purposes including crafting and storage, official dinners, treaty negotiations, public speeches, a gathering spot, and a welcome and information center. Over time as PaxLair grew, the Town Hall changed in size, structure, and function.

Functions
The Town Hall is the main facility for conducting business with and by the local government. It is the primary workplace of the mayor and a temporary workplace for the governor until the the castle is built. Citizens also meet with the town manager to register houses, establishments, and guilds. Citizens may also file suggestions and complaints about the town. A waiting area contains books about the history, laws, and descriptions of PaxLair. A few nostalgic items are on loan and displayed from the PaxLair museum. Visitors are welcomed and then given directions to the welcome center for more information. Diplomats also work here who negotiate diplomatic treaties and agreements with other towns and guilds on treaties and agreements. The town council meets here when called to order. Town citizens assemble in the great hall or out front when important speeches and news is announced to the town. Formal and informal dinners are also conducted.

Staff

 * Governor - until the Castle is built.
 * Mayor
 * Town Manager
 * Chancellor of Diplomacy
 * Diplomats

Location
The town hall was located on lots #22 and #28 in the Upper Meadow of Valemark during the last Release (R7).



Architecture
The town hall is a Wood & Plaster 2-Story with Great Hall Village Home.



History
The PaxLair Town Hall had very humble beginnings. When PaxLair was first settled, the people did not have much wood and materials to build a town hall. Priorities were placed on building homes for the citizens while still needing a place to gather as a small growing community. The first town hall helped serve both purposes. It was an open-air yard with a crafting area and tables for meals and relaxation. The podium was built to help people see the Governor when he needed to speak to the people as a group.

After sufficient housing and materials were built for the citizens, they built a small house for the town hall. It contained a simple table and bed for whoever was on duty to meet new people, travelers, and citizens. The small house was not used much as there was still a great deal of development going on in other areas of the town. Many gatherings were conducted at the new Town Drunk Tavern. As such the town hall did not have a great deal of importance during this time.

As more people flocked to PaxLair to see what was going on in the new town and more people built homes in the area, the town hall needed to be improved. The old building was torn down and the people built a new two-story building with a great hall. Carpenters significantly depleted the supply of wood and more lumberjacks were hired to gather more wood. Once the roof was placed on the new town hall, the Governor and Town Manager moved in so they could better work with the citizens and visitors.

Royal visits
The PaxLair Town Hall was visited at times by royalty.


 * April 27, 2014 by Lord British seeing the open-air town hall with a group of friends.
 * May 25, 2014 by Lord British, DarkStarr, and Lady FireLotus during a royal tour of PaxLair (video).
 * June 29, 2014 by Lord British during the start of the multi-town Welcome Quest.

Release 5
During the building of PaxLair in Release 5, the town hall was an open-air yard with no building. It was located in Valemark in lot #25. It had a podium, a crafting area to the rear, and a small pub area to the front. Lord British visited the small town hall with many guests at the end of Release 5.

Release 6
During the building of PaxLair in Release 6, the town hall was a small Shingle-Roof Plaster Village Home. It was located in Valemark in lot #24. It had a podium in the front and a crafting area to the rear. Lord British, DarkStarr, and Lady FireLotus visited PaxLair and the small town hall during a Royal Tour at the end of Release 6.

Release 7
During the building of PaxLair in Release 7, the town hall was a Wood & Plaster 2-Story with Great Hall Village Home. It was located in Valemark in lot #22 then moved to lot #28. It had a podium and table in the front, storage area to the side, and a portion of the Town Drunk Tavern to the rear when on lot #28. Lord British visited the town hall during the first-ever running of the multi-town Welcome Quest.