First there was a forum, and then a vote on which road to take. Ultimately, with a unanimous vote, Bob Raymond and the members of the Marion Town House Building Committee chose Option 3A to present to selectmen as their recommendation.
The committee had high hopes that the January 26 public forum would result in the community reaching a consensus on what to do about the aging town house.
During the forum, Raymond presented five options crafted with the assistance of architects Turowski2, construction management company PM&C, and the members of the Town House Building Committee.
Before launching into the details of each plan, however, Raymond explained the difference between “hard costs” and “soft costs.” Hard costs, he said, were the ‘bricks and mortar’ plus contractor mark-ups that represent 70 percent of the total. Soft costs were “everything else,” he explained.
The everything else category represented such items as furniture, telephone and data needs, environmental studies, hazmat surveys, and a litany of miscellaneous must-haves.
Option 1 is the complete renovation of the town house. This includes 17,559 square feet over three stories with 1,050 square feet of meeting space.
Meeting space would become a bone of contention as the evening went on. This plan is estimated at $11,991,393 or $682 per square-foot.
Option 2 would require construction at two town-owned properties: the town house and the Atlantis Drive facility.
This option includes renovations of 10,980 square feet in the town house and 3,400 square feet at Atlantis Drive, currently the home of the Recreation and Facilities Departments.
In this concept, there are two meeting spaces – one being 375 square feet and the other 855 square feet. The combined estimate for this plan is $8,553,939, or $594 per square-foot.
Option 3 includes town house renovations and the construction of an addition for 13,015 square feet of improvements, with two meeting spaces – a 60-seat space at 996 square feet and another 371 square-foot space with 24 seats.
Costs are estimated at $9,629,460 or $739 square feet.
Option 3A is a stripped-down version of Option 3 with the deletion of the 996 square-foot meeting space. That would bring the project estimate down to $8,109,495, or $722 per square foot.
Then came the wild card: the former VFW property.
Option 4 would be a new building on this recently acquired site – a 13,000 square-foot structure with 850 square feet of meeting space. Cost estimates came in at $9,140,613, or $703 per square-foot. However, Raymond said that this option had not been fully vetted.
Before closing out his presentation and opening the meeting up to full public participation, although there had been questions along the way regarding space needs for each of the 18 town employees currently housed in the town house and the amount of meeting space actually required, Raymond shared the results of a survey that had been mailed out with the census forms.
The survey asked the question, “Do you want to renovate the house” or “Do you want to build new at the VFW?”
The results from approximately 851 respondents were 55 percent for fixing the town house and 41 percent for building new at the six-acre VFW site.
Several residents argued that the survey was flawed and should not be used to gauge public sentiment. One resident asked why only one survey had been sent per household instead of one per registered voter. The validity of the survey in calculable results came into question by many.
Resident Joe McDonough voiced his concerns that all the cost estimates were too high. He said that a recent project in Foxboro had come in at $449 per square feet and had had nine bidders.
In defense of their cost assumption, Raymond said, “We’ve been studying this for five years.” He attempted to explain the rationale employed by PM&C, who did the cost analysis, but many in attendance wanted more information and more study.
John Waterman asked, “How many square feet do we really need for only 18 employees … we need to step back…”
Bill Saltonstall, architect and member of the Town House Building Committee, said, “I think we made a lot of progress preserving government in that building. It’s something I’d like to see.”
Saltonstall shared that on a recent cross-country road trip, he had witnessed the sad impact on town centers that had been abandoned.
“The center of town is the compact village, library, and the town house…. It’s worth preserving … to keep the village viable and unique,” he said.
Anthony Days said, “I’m in favor of keeping the charm, not letting the town house go to condos.”
Raymond commented that it was uncertain the town could even sell the town house. He said that similar structures in Fairhaven were for sale with no takers.
Town Administrator Paul Dawson said, “The best decision would be a building re-use plan.” He did concede that, if the town house sold, it might generate tax revenue.
Dawson was asked if the VFW property had a deed restriction that prohibited its use for anything other than a council on aging location. He confirmed there was not a restriction, but that the town had accepted the gift in good faith that it would be used for that purpose.
Planning Board Chairman Rob Lane was in favor of evaluating a new building option.
Alan Minard, Finance Committee chairman said, “What we’re missing here is study of a new building, a whole new way. If we could do that, we could go to town meeting with another option.”
Former selectman John Henry rose to speak: “When all this began a long time ago, I was in favor of a new building in the ball field.” He said that suggestion had been met with disapproval but that now, with the VFW acreage, ball fields could be placed there and possibly the ball field beside Sippican School could again be considered.
“I would put the VFW off limits, keep the [town government] buildings all together,” Henry said. “It’s morally dishonest not to fully cost and evaluate the new building option,” Henry said.
Directing his final comment to Raymond, Henry said of the current options, “You’re likely to go down in flames at town meeting.”
For nearly three hours they debated the merits of the options, they debated whether the cost estimates were accurate, and they appreciated the work done by the committee, but ultimately the majority wanted additional study.
Raymond thanked everyone for their honest exchanges saying, “It’s time to fish or cut bait.”
Then on January 31, the committee voted to recommend Option 3A to the Board of Selectmen next week, despite some public cries to explore a new building construction at the VFW property.
Option 3A at 11,225 square feet is almost half the size of the current town house square footage of 21,380. Unlike Option 3, Option 3A excludes a 996 square-foot conference room for meetings; however, the committee felt it could return to Town Meeting at a later time with an article for an addition, should the Board of Selectmen prefer.
Raymond was concerned about the timing of the next Board of Selectmen meeting on February 7 because the Capital Improvement Committee gave the MTHBC a deadline of February 3 to submit a form for the amount it would be requesting for the next phase of the town house project.
“We’re running out of time to get on the [town meeting] warrant,” said Raymond.
Raymond suggested that the board submit a draft provisional form to the Capital Improvement Committee and hope that the selectmen take the MTHBC’s recommendation.
The Option 3A total estimated cost is $8.1 million.
The committee wants to push for support by highlighting the cultural and historical value of keeping its historic town house in the village, while making the building just as efficient and cost-effective as a new building could be.
There’s no way this building could be more efficient than a new building, said Raymond, “But we are arguing that it’s as efficient.”
You might be able to knock off a million dollars with a new building, the committee agreed, but that would further delay the project by at least another year and possibly face higher interest rates and inflation.
The next meeting of the Marion Town House Building Committee has not been scheduled, but members of the MTHBC will be present on Tuesday, February 7, at 7:00 pm during the Marion Board of Selectmen meeting.
By Marilou Newell and Jean Perry