Officials plan to meet after Whidden proposes town hall annex
By Karen Mann

The Town Hall Renovation Committee will soon be speaking with selectmen to discuss using the George F. Stevens municipal building as a town hall annex.

Committee member Jim Whidden proposed the group invest money to finish repairing the building, then make this the town hall annex. He also said that space could be used to temporarily house town employees when they relocate during construction at town hall.

The building currently houses Historical Piano Concerts, Inc., which includes a piano museum and study center.

Whidden has heard the building's tenants, Patricia and Michael Frederick, will not be renewing their lease when it expires in three years.

"This town has only three buildings that are historically significant," Whidden told selectmen on Oct.2. "What happens after that (three years) We have a chance to preserve it for the future."

The Fredericks have said that they hope to leave the piano museum so that someone or some organization can take over the non-profit organization.

Whidden presented his idea to the board on Tuesday, Oct. 2, after presenting it the night before at the selectmen's meeting. Selectmen agreed if the Town Hall Renovation Committee wanted to further explore this idea, they would set up a meeting with the appropriate parties.

That meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16. In the selectmen's chamber.

"It might be good to have a brain storming session," Selectman Christopher Gagnon said.

Selectman Mark Carlisle agreed saying it was "all about capital planning."

According to Whidden, the net savings to the town would be at least $100,000. This is because a vault would not be built in town hall, and the committee would not have to spend additional money to relocate town hall workers.

Town Administrator Kevin Paicos said the cost for necessary renovations on the Stevens municipal building is estimated at $87,000. He said only about $50,000 worth of work would have to be done though, for it to be usable by town officials.

The committee would not be able to use the money appropriated for the town hall renovation project to work on the Stevens Municipal Building. They would have to hold a special town meeting and ask for additional money for a new project.

Voters approved $2.7 million at a town meeting in May 2005 for the renovation project.

Whidden believes taxpayers would be willing to spend the money because of the building's history and importance to the town.

"This would be the best way to preserve the intent of the building, that it be a municipal building," said Whidden.

Renovation committee members agreed that Whidden's idea had merit, but some members were concerned it was too late to explore this option and it would push back the start date of construction at town hall.

The committee hopes to have construction start on the building in the early spring of 2007.

"We have enough on our plate, we need to focus on town hall," said Committee Chairman David Sargent.

He added Whidden should have brought this idea forward earlier, and it was too late to take on this project with their current project.

The committee discussed the idea at a May meeting but decided the work on the Stevens building was too far out of their jurisdiction.

"I'm not in favor of taking this option off the table tonight," Whidden said at that May meeting.

The committee had unofficially agreed earlier in the meeting that renting trailers to temporarily house town employees was the best available option.

The committee learned that Richard Wright, owner of the Ashburnham hardware store, found a tenant to rent the empty space in his building. The committee had discussed using this space for relocation.

Paicos estimated the cost of renting trailers to be between $45,000-$75,000. The committee received three request for proposals from companies that rent trailers. A few committee members volunteered to read through each RFP to make sure it meets the minimum requirements set forth by the group. Then the group as a whole will use a list of comparative factors to rate each RFP.

Paicos told the committee the site being used for the trailers, next to the library, needs to be prepped before winter. It was estimated at the committee's Oct. 2 meeting that the trailers will be brought in mid-February so construction on town hall could begin in mid-March.

In other business:

 Kaffee Kang, of Kang Associates, gave the committee an updated version of the blueprints that showed the plan for the ceilings. It is designed so that most of the plaster ceilings will stay in place and only a few drop ceilings being added to the rooms like the bathrooms.

 Kang asked the committee for permission to cut open pieces of the roof to see which way the frame runs, but the committee held up giving it to her as they are waiting for a hazardous material report to be completed on the building. They want to make sure none of the proposed open areas contain asbestos. The report showed the only asbestos was found in the boiler room in the basement and in the glazing on the windows of the building.

 Committee members also discussed what needed to be done to restore the wooden copula at the top of the building. They were very concerned this be handled properly, because of the history this piece adds to the building. Kang said from her work, she thinks only the trim of the copula is rotted and that part could be replaced easily. She did not think the whole copula needed to be rebuilt though, which was what she was initially suspected.

Kang said all of the engineers involved in this project were in good shape, and that the committee should have an estimate on the entire project's cost by mid-November.