Town faces choices as FinCom rejects MBC article in favor of alternative drafted by dissenting selectmen

by Anonym · Monday, March 7, 2011

by Joe Hutchinson

At its final meeting before its report goes to the printer, the Finance Committee voted last week not to recommend an article submitted by the BOS-appointed Municipal Buildings Committee (MBC) and gave their support instead to a citizens petition drafted by two selectmen and signed by 22 residents. The two articles will appear on the warrant at the upcoming Town Meeting: Article 17, recommended by the MBC and accepted by the Board of Selectmen, specifies an approach with multiple decision points over several years to renovate town center buildings, including Town Hall, Hildreth House, and the old library, and includes site work. Article 18, the citizens petition drafted by selectmen Bill Johnson and Ron Ricci, recommends limiting renovations to current building footprints and focuses on Town Hall and the old library while deferring any work on Hildreth House.

The committee voted not to recommend Article 17 and to recommend Article 18. On Article 17, members Steve Colwell, Marie Fagan, Heidi Frank, Lori Granville, and George McKenna voted not to support; Chairman Bob Thurston abstained. On Article 18, members Steve Colwell, Heidi Frank, Lori Granville, and George McKenna voted to support; Marie Fagan and Chairman Bob Thurston abstained.

Both Articles along with the Finance Committee recommendations and comments, as they will appear in the Finance Committee’s Town Meeting Report, are listed below.

ARTICLE 17: MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS

To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available funds, a sum of money to be expended by the Board of Selectmen to be used for professional services including but not limited to architectural; structural engineering; mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering; civil engineering; owner's project manager, surveys, legal services, and cost estimating to develop Schematic Design Plans for the renovation and expansion of (1) the Town Hall to serve town government offices, meeting space, civic and community space, and other uses as appropriate; and (2) the Hildreth House to continue as the center for senior life, with unexpended funds as of June 30, 2013 being returned to their funding source, or pass any vote or votes in relation thereto. (Inserted by Municipal Buildings Committee)

FINANCE COMMITTEE DOES NOT RECOMMEND - the sum of $225,000 to be raised, appropriated or transferred from available funds for the creation of schematic designs for Hildreth House and Town Hall as proposed by the Municipal Building Committee. Refer to the Recommendation of Article 18 for additional details.

ARTICLE 18: MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS

To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available funds, a sum of money to be expended by the Board of Selectmen to be used for professional services including but not limited to architectural; structural engineering; mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering; civil engineering; owner's project manager, surveys, legal services, and cost estimating for the following:

1) To develop appropriate plans and specifications for the construction, reconstruction and renovation of the Town Hall for municipal government uses only. All construction, reconstruction and renovation will be limited to the existing building footprints with the exception of any necessary expansion solely for providing elevator access to the upper floor. The design will not include but will accommodate possible future expansion; and

2) To develop appropriate plans and specifications for the construction, reconstruction and renovation of the Old Library for use as temporary town offices during reconstruction of the Town Hall; additional space for Council on Aging functions and offices; community center usage and meeting space. All construction, reconstruction and renovation will be limited to the existing building footprint with the exception of any necessary expansion solely for providing elevator access to the upper floor(s); and

3) To preserve the Hildreth House as is for continued use by the Council on Aging and meeting space without expansion or renovation at this time.

(Inserted by Citizen Petition)

FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS - the sum of $225,000 be raised through the issuance of excluded debt, the proceeds of which will be used to develop schematic design plans for the construction, reconstruction and renovation of Town Hall within the existing building footprint. The Town Hall design should not preclude possible future expansion if government needs mandate. The use of funds should also include the development of schematic design plans for the construction, reconstruction and renovation of the Old Library for temporary use as town offices during the interim construction period and additional space for the Council on Aging functions and offices, meeting space and certain community activities. The Finance Committee believes Article 18 offers the most flexibility in addressing the Town's imminent space needs, required building renovation and affordability to the taxpayers. At the present time the Town has adequate space capacity thus expanding two of the three buildings as proposed in Article 17 is simply not necessary. What is necessary is the critically needed deferred maintenance on the Town Hall and Old Library that has been postponed for the last five years. Article 18 clearly addresses a defined functional use for the Old Library, a decision that has likewise been deferred for some time.

FINANCE COMMITTEE COMMENT

The Finance Committee strongly supports the need to renovate/preserve the Town Hall, the Old Library and the Hildreth House (in that order) and urges the Town to take action on either Article 17 or Article 18 or amended versions of one or the other. We cannot afford to defer required maintenance another year. Also, consistent with the practice followed in all of the recent large building projects including the Public Safety Building, the Library and The Bromfield School, regardless of which article passes, we recommend that the funding source be excluded debt requiring a ballot question. The proposed renovations and expansions outlined in the MBC proposals will approach $9 million so the decision about what buildings to renovate and to what extent to expand them should be put to the entire town for a vote before any designs are generated. Please refer to the end of this Warrant for the text of Ballot Question #1 on the Town Election of April 5, 2011.

Ballot Question #1

QUESTION #1 - Proposition 2½ Debt Exclusion

Shall the Town of Harvard be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to fund the development of schematic design plans for the construction, reconstruction, renovation and expansion of town-owned buildings?
YES___ NO___

(Requires a majority vote for passage.)