The good news from Town Hall this week is that contractors have removed all the asbestos from the building, which is cleared to resume full operation. The bad news is that the existing Town Hall addition will probably need extensive reconstruction if it is not replaced as part of the Town Hall building project.
Town Administrator Tim Bragan reported to the selectmen this week that when the DPW renovated the addition after the Public Safety Building was built and the police station vacated the space now occupied by the Town Hall meeting room, a bearing wall was removed, leaving a span without adequate support. So there’s a bulge in the wall by the stairwell in the meeting room, the stairs are pulling away from the wall, and the ceiling is threatening to come down, Bragan said. He’s awaiting a full report from the engineers who recently assessed the situation but said their preliminary suggestion was to gut the inside and reframe it.
In the not-that-bad category, however, the recent asbestos removal work allowed for closer inspection of the addition’s foundation, which was thought to be in worse condition than it actually is. Aside from some settling and rotting sills, the foundation is “not that bad,” Bragan said.
Asbestos removal is a line item in the Town Hall renovation budget, and the $27,000 cost will be paid for with money from the $3.7 million allocated to the project by the 2012 Town Meeting.
As of Monday, Jan. 13, Town Hall town boards and committees will resume meetings at Town Hall.
