The evening concluded with the burial of the time capsule\u00a0at the foot of the building\u2019s west wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get to bury a little bit of Erie history, which is very exciting,\u201d Police Chief Lee Mathis said.<\/p>\n
The capsule was assembled as part of Erie\u2019s 150th anniversary celebration in 2024, Mathis said. Town departments worked together to gather items representing Erie\u2019s past and present, including the town\u2019s 2024 home rule charter, notes and signatures from the 2024 town fair, historic municipal court dockets, police badges, a 150th anniversary commemorative coin, and a scrapbook from Erie\u2019s 100th anniversary celebration donated by members of the Wise family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had Erie kids draw some things that they hope to see in Erie in the future,\u201d Mathis said. \u201cThat\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Erie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DCC-L-TownErie41.jpg\")
Erie officials and staff cut the ribbon to formally open the renovated Town Hall building. (Cliff Grassmick\/Daily Camera).<\/p>\n
During the event, town leaders and residents reflected on what they hope Erie will be remembered for in the 2020s, and what they envision the town looking like decades from now, when the time capsule is expected to be opened in the year 2076.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Emily Baer said the current decade is defined by uncertainty and division, and she hopes the present day is remembered as a time in Erie when residents supported one another and worked to create a stronger sense of belonging.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel the weight of the moment of this intersection of history that we\u2019re in,\u201d Baer said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of divisiveness, nationally, and in the world, a lot of uncertainty. And so I feel like community is where we meet that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead 50 years, Baer said Erie will likely look very different. \u201cMaybe we have flying cars,\u2029maybe we email ourselves everywhere,\u201d she said, adding that she hopes a \u201cmore diverse leadership,\u201d improved transportation infrastructure and solutions to affordability challenges are all in the town\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just hope that we have done our due diligence now to set us up for great success in the future,\u201d Baer said.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Anil Pesaramelli said he hopes the 2020s are remembered as a decade of thoughtful planning and inclusive growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see how we grow smartly and how we accommodate people,\u201d Pesaramelli said. \u201cI want all the infrastructure needs to be planned now.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DCC-L-TownErie367.jpg\")
The Erie Town Hall on Wednesday. (Cliff Grassmick\/Daily Camera).<\/p>\n
Mayor Andrew Moore said he would like to see a future that preserves Erie\u2019s character.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Erie to recognize all the hard decisions that are going into what we\u2019re doing. So that Erie, in 2075, still has this small town feel,\u201d Moore said. \u201cWe\u2019re working as hard as we can to preserve that. And we\u2019re making long-term decisions. We\u2019re making, I often say, 100-year decisions right now, and we\u2019re doing the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Erie to be remembered now as a place that\u2019s kind of defining itself as a bigger city,\u201d resident Micah Frank said. \u201cI hope we\u2019re welcoming of all people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten-year-old resident Nico said she imagines Erie largely staying the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like Erie will be just like this,\u201d Nico said, \u201cbut just maybe a little bit bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Town Hall building originally served as the Lincoln School until 1966 before being converted for municipal government use. It remains listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the town\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Councilmember\u00a0Brian O\u2019Connor said preserving historic spaces like the Town Hall will be key to maintaining Erie\u2019s identity as the town grows.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not growing you\u2019re dying,\u201d O\u2019Connor said. \u201cBut maintaining buildings like this \u2026 that\u2019s how we keep that small-town feel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With residents looking on, Erie officials buried a time capsule outside Town Hall this week, marking the end…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1676,6838,136,138,137,1677,241,139,1680],"class_list":{"0":"post-88773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-erie","8":"tag-colorado","9":"tag-east-county","10":"tag-erie","11":"tag-erie-headlines","12":"tag-erie-news","13":"tag-front-range","14":"tag-latest-headlines","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-weld-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}