Town Hall design (Drawings by LLB Architects)  CLICK EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The committee planning the renovation of Town Hall and Hildreth House has thrown its support behind a design for Town Hall that keeps its second floor open "as flexible meeting space, and for other civic and community events." Once-skeptical Selectmen and town committees may be ready to sign on as well.

Speaking with one voice last Thursday, the Municipal Building Committee told an overflow crowd at its final public forum that its own back-of-the envelope analysis had shown that filling the historic assembly hall of the 1872 building with enclosed offices and meeting rooms would not only be more expensive, but would not dramatically increase space for meetings.

This week, in a letter to the Capital Planning and Investment Committee signed by building committee co-chairs Pete Jackson and Wade Holtzman, the committee put its conclusions in writing.

"The cost difference between [a full build-out of the second floor and preservation of its open civic space] are minimal and within the margin of error," the co-chairs wrote. "The non-monetary pros and cons favor keeping the second floor open."

Selectman Ron Ricci told the Press immediately after the forum last week that he thought the committee was "headed in the right direction," but still had work to do to bring the cost of the project down to an amount Town Meeting would accept. Ricci voted last month with Selectman Bill Johnson against an earlier version of the open plan, known as Scheme 2, and has criticized the committee for not being sufficiently cost conscious.

Hildreth House design (Drawings by LLB Architects)  CLICK EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE

But Johnson appeared this week to be ready to get behind the latest plan. In a letter to the editor of the Press this week, Johnson writes, "I think we finally have a Town Hall renovation proposal that can pass muster at Town Meeting. It took a lot of time, hard work, persistence and (unfortunate but necessary) anguish to get to this point."

"The best outcomes happen when you struggle," his letter concludes. "We have collectively done so on Town Hall, and I think we now have a winner."

George McKenna, chairman of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee, was not present at the forum and had not yet received the building committee letter when he was contacted by the Press Wednesday morning. He and his committee have been pressing the building committee for weeks to investigate the advantages of using upper Town Hall for offices and meetings rooms."

Told that Holtzman and building committee member Lou Russo now supported the latest plan, McKenna said that "if those two were comfortable with the results, I would be inclined to accept them." But not having seen the numbers, he said, he couldn't comment further. It will be up to capital committee members "to come to their own conclusions," he said.

"The purpose in asking for this information," McKenna said, "was to be sure we had covered all of our bases in case the question is asked at town meeting.

A new consensus

The road to a new consensus began last week. More than 80 residents made their way through light snow and freezing drizzle to fill Volunteers Hall at the town library to capacity and to hear Drayton Fair of LLB Architects, the town's design firm, present fresh floor plans and three-dimensional sketches for both Town Hall and Hildreth House, the town's senior center.

Because the building committee and Selectmen had settled on a preferred design for Hildreth House over a month ago, plans for that building are much further advanced. Its fundamental design has changed little, but LLB has continued to refine the interior and exterior finish of the former summer house and its proposed addition, as well as plans for parking and landscaping. Because work on the building is unlikely to start before 2014, it has so far avoided closer scrutiny.

Not so with Town Hall. Although the committee voted unanimously earlier this month to replace the building's aging addition with a new one and to keep upper Town Hall open, mounting pressure from members of the Capital Planning and Investment Committee and Board of Selectmen led Holtzman and Russo to ask for more time to assess whether a "full build-out" of the second floor would be a better use of town money. Last month. Selectmen voted 3–2 to give the committee and LLB more time to refine Scheme 2, but not to explore a full build-out.

So instead, co-chair Pete Jackson and Doug Coots decided to do the work themselves. They jointly drafted a design for a full build-out. Then committee member Russo, an experienced contractor, used industry standard estimates to calculate the cost difference between the two approaches.

By the time the forum convened, the results were in. In a brief pre-forum meeting, Russo explained his findings to Fair, Holtzman, and Jackson. (Two other committee members, Doug Coots and Chris Cutler, were absent). Board of Selectmen liaisons Ricci and Marie Sobalvarro were also present. A full build-out, Russo said, would cost roughly three percent, or $112,000, more than the cost of the open plan. He said the difference was a difference in relative costs, not the absolute, final cost of the two schemes.

"What I think we're seeing is that the numbers are very close," Russo told his colleagues. "To my mind they shouldn't be driving the bus. What should be driving our decision-making…is what the town wants."

An open plan

Without partitions, the open plan developed by LLB provides a minimum of four meeting spaces on the second floor: the stage, the open assembly hall, and two enclosed rooms located in the addition. Using partitions, the number of meeting spaces could be increased to six, or possibly more. The plan includes a stage and additional areas for filing and storage.

Stu Sklar of Scott Road, like many others, praised the committee for its work, but after listening to the presentation, wanted to know if all of its members backed the plan.

There were no objections when co-chair Jackson, speaking for the committee said, "We're all in line with the approach taken."

Holtzman said he'd take full responsibility for "derailing" the process when he had made a "personal" request (one not supported by a majority of the committee) for more time. But, he said, the committee had "an obligation to do its due diligence." The committee can now say it "has done its homework" and has chosen the most cost-effective solution, Holtzman told the gathering.

"I would agree," said Russo, one of the two previously dissenting members. "The committee had done the work of looking at a full build-out that many in town had asked it to do," he said. The plan preferred by all of the committee is "a compromise, if you will," he said. "But it's more flexible."

Chris Cutler, who arrived late, said he was "very satisfied" with the outcome and would support it. Coots was absent, but in prior meetings has always argued to preserve some or all of the "great hall."

The forum lasted past 9 p.m. More than a dozen attendees rose to propose creative uses for the great hall – from dancing to theater – and give feedback, which included architectural critiques and suggestions for how best to fit out the large hall. There were pleas for a bare floor, for preservation of the historic stage proscenium, for a stage for dramatic performances, and even a request, by Selectman Tim Clark, for a sign to identify the building as Town Hall. The forum was taped by the town Cable Committee and will be shown again. The complete LLB presentation is available on both the town and Harvard Press websites.

At the end of the evening, Eric Broadbent, chair of the town's Energy Advisory Committee, praised the building committee once again for reaching consensus, which drew a standing ovation from the remaining attendees.

"I want to emphasize that we're still in 'schematic design,'" Fair told the audience. "It's just a first step, but it's a big step because it establishes budget parameters [for the two buildings]."

Wednesday morning, committee members bent over plans for Town Hall and Hildreth House and prepared a list of design requests for LLB. The total cost of renovating Town Hall has already been estimated by some to be as high as $4 million, financed over the next 20 years. Coming up with a more accurate number is the next task of the committee.

Next week, on Feb. 9, LLB and John Sayre-Scibona, the town's project manager, will return with fresh schematic designs for both buildings along with better estimates of the cost of their renovation. Then on Feb. 15, the day after Valentine's Day, it's on to a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee, in Volunteers Hall once again.