At Town Meeting April 2, Harvard voters will be asked to choose between two articles, each of which embodies a starkly different approach to the renovation of Town Hall, Hildreth House and the old library, three iconic town-owned buildings that not only host town government and many of its programs, but, many say, define the character of the town Common they occupy.
At the March 2 Board of Selectmen meeting, Don Green comments that the town should maintain the buildings it already has before considering any expansion plans.
(Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
White, with “records stored in her hayloft,” sees the need for expansion at Town Hall.
The outcome was determined Tuesday night at a biweekly meeting of the Board of Selectmen in Volunteers Hall, and followed two weeks of public presentations by the BOS-appointed Municipal Buildings Committee (MBC)—which has studied the matter for more than a year—and heartfelt debates between the MBC and members of other key town committees.
The first article, which was recommended to the BOS by the MBC, asks for money to create schematic designs for Town Hall and Hildreth House that are consistent with the committee’s vision for their future use as an expanded center for the town’s volunteer-driven town government and, in the case of the Hildreth House, as a senior center. BOS Chairman Peter Warren and selectmen Marie Sobalvarro and Tim Clark voted in favor of the MBC request; selectmen Bill Johnson and Ron Ricci abstained, though both said they had great respect for the committee’s work and that they favored giving the town a choice.
The second article is a citizens’ petition that also asks for design money, but specifies that it be applied to designs for Town Hall and the old library only, and limited to the necessary reconstruction and renovation of their “existing footprints.” The article would “preserve” use of Hildreth House as a senior center “without expansion or renovation at this time.” In a phone interview, Johnson said that he and Ricci had drafted the petition to provide an alternative to the MBC proposal. The petition, which needed only 10 signatures to earn a slot on the warrant, was signed by 22 registered voters.
Warren asked that the MBC-recommended article come first in the warrant, out of respect for the work of the MBC. If it fails, then the citizen’s petition offers an alternative. According to FinCom Chairman Bob Thurston, if either article is approved, the voters will be asked to pay for it as a debt exclusion. MBC estimates the cost of its article to be $225,000.
A third article, whose appearance was reported by the Press last week, was rejected by a unanimous vote of the BOS. That article asked for design money for Town Hall and a center for “the activities and offices” of the Council on Aging, without specifying a location. According to Town Administrator Tim Bragan, the article was drafted by Bragan and Town Counsel Mark Lanza to allow its amendment at Town Meeting. The Press had not been able to determine who requested the article. On Tuesday night, however, Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC) Chairman George McKenna, speaking in its support, said the article reflected the opinion of his committee members.
‘Pursuing a vision’ versus ‘fixing what we have’
The two articles differ in their approach to fixing and potentially expanding the use of Town Hall, Hildreth House, and the old library. All three buildings need repairs and both articles ask for design money to plan them. The MBC article proposes the town renovate Town Hall and Hildreth House first, while the citizens’ petition wants the money spent on Town Hall and the old library.
Regardless of which article passes, new federal and state codes and laws will require the town to do more than simple deferred maintenance on any of its buildings. New energy codes, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and a state law that requires the town to hire an independent project manager, are three factors that add to the estimated cost. Town Hall renovation is likely to be the most expensive, at a cost of $2.25 million, according to the professional consultants hired by MBC. The cost of doing deferred maintenance and code compliance work on Hildreth House is estimated at $1.5 million; for the old library the estimate is $1.4 million.
But the two proposals also differ philosophically, as well as in scope. At each of the MBC presentations, and again at a public hearing before the selectmen on Tuesday evening, MBC Chairman Ron Ostberg has asked the town to think of the buildings as “an obligation and an opportunity.” The opportunities include expanding Town Hall to provide more space for volunteer committees, expanding Hildreth House to house all of the programs of the Council on Aging in one place, and doing additional work on the old library to make it a suitable location to be leased to nonprofit community arts organizations. The MBC vision also contemplates “liberating upper Town Hall” and restoring it to its role as a public performance and civic meeting space. In Ostberg’s view, there are choices to be made and not all of them have to be made in 2011. The MBC recommendations envision reconstruction of Town Hall beginning no earlier than 2013, with Hildreth House and the old library following later.
Those behind the citizens’ petition, however, including Johnson, worry that if the town rejects the vision of the MBC, crucial work on Town Hall will be delayed for another year, at a time when construction costs are at historic lows.
“The idea here is to give some choices,” said Johnson Tuesday evening. “We have these unaddressed deferred maintenance issues with our buildings. I think that the worst thing that can happen out of this Town Meeting is that people say, ‘I really can’t afford this expensive option, so I’m not going to do anything.'”
Ostberg insists that the MBC plan does not commit the town to its total vision, because at each step, the town will get to decide whether to proceed. “We shouldn’t make decisions that preclude future possibilities,” he said Tuesday.
But Johnson disagrees that embracing the MBC plan is commitment-free. “That’s a shortsighted perspective on it,” he said. “What you really need to look at is what is it we’re moving towards when we sign up for any of these scenarios. It’s shortsighted to just look at the design cost.” The citizens’ position, he added, does not preclude future implementation of any of the MBC’s proposals.
The hearing and debate over the MBC proposal brought out the largest crowd yet since the MBC concluded its workshops last year. More than 35 residents showed up to voice opinions on the plan. The League of Women voters will host another presentation and discussion Thursday, March 10.
