The Board of Selectmen has appointed the new Municipal Buildings Committee to continue the work of the Municipal Buildings Task Force (MBTF), which presented its report at this year’s Annual Town Meeting.

Chairman Peter Warren read the charge to the new committee at the June 22 selectmen’s meeting: “The Municipal Buildings Committee shall develop recommendations for the space optimization, reuse, and renovations of town-owned buildings—the Town Hall with town offices, old fire station, old library, and Hildreth House for municipal government offices, community center, senior center, and/or such other uses as may be appropriate, including lease or sale.”

The committee’s marching orders included the development of a recommendation to improve parking and pedestrian access for those town buildings and the establishment of a budget and plan, in concert with the Capital Planning Committee, for all proposed work on the buildings, including renovations or modifications, as well as sales, leases, or acquisitions.

In its report to Town Meeting, the MBTF stated that Town Hall, old library, and the Hildreth House are prominent, centrally-located, under-utilized properties, each with substantial deferred maintenance and each requiring major system upgrades to comply with current codes and to reduce operational costs. The report states “these properties are a financial liability.” The work of the task force since October 2009 has been to begin creating a framework for evaluating all of these assets in town center, based on the current and future needs of the town while minimizing renovation and operational costs.

The task force developed a phased work plan, with Phase I focused on the development of attainable financing and due to be presented at the 2011 Annual Town Meeting. Phase II of the work plan calls for development of Requests for Proposals (RFP) and Phase III for construction to begin some time during or after 2012.

The new committee is tasked with providing quarterly progress reports to the Board of Selectmen, with a final report and recommendations to the selectmen, the Finance Committee, and the Capital Planning Committee due at least 60 days before the next Annual Town Meeting.

Members appointed to the new committee were Ron Ostberg, Doug Coots, Lucy Wallace, Willie Wickman, and Pete Jackson. There are three positions still open, and volunteers are being sought who have skills in grant-writing, fundraising, and space optimization.