Upton Residents to determine fate of Town Hall Renovation Project at the Annual Town Meeting May 9

Upton residents will determine whether or not to approve the Town Hall Renovation Project at the Annual Town Meeting on May 9.  

The Upton Town Hall was built in 1884 and is listed on the Massachusetts Register of Historical Places and the National Register of Historic Places for architectural and historical significance. The building is one of the oldest examples of a wood framed building with brick veneer in Massachusetts. In the 1990s the Town agreed to a preservation restriction with the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) for which major changes require MHC permission.

The Town moved towards renovating the Town Hall because the current building is not handicapped accessible and does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The building does not meet current building codes and is not energy efficient; the Selectmen voted to close Town Hall on Fridays to reduce energy costs. Several departments are housed in the Knowlton-Risteen building (also not handicapped accessible) and several town boards/commissions store public records in private homes because there is no file cabinet space available.

The Town Hall Restoration Project will provide ADA Accessibility, upgrade and improve life safety and code deficiencies, improve customer service, improve environmental conditions, consolidate town functions, increase energy efficiency, and preserve historic features. The renovated Town Hall will be open 5 days a week and include onsite meeting space for all town departments and boards. There will be 14 parking spaces adjacent to the Town Hall and the Town Hall will share 34 spaces in the United Parish lot.

The ground floor requires structural repairs, waterproofing the foundation, adding ADA access from outside and elevator access to all floors. The Board of Health, Treasurer/Collector, Board of Assessors, Town Accountant, Upton Cable TV, and Veterans Agent will be located on the ground floor. This floor will also include a community conference room for 12 people, file storage space, accessible rest rooms, a small staff room and room to add other boards/commissions. In the past this floor was home to the Police Station which had two jail cells and a pistol firing range.

On the first floor – the Main Hall (aka the gym) will be restored. The drop ceiling will be removed to expose the original arches.  ADA access to the stage will be added. The Main Hall will have new lighting (mostly LED) and a HVAC multi zone system for the entire building. The old basketball nets will be removed and new nets are being donated. The floors and murals will be preserved and the entrance will be enlarged. Town offices on this floor include Town Manager, Town Clerk, Planning Board, and an 8 person conference room.

The second floor plan will include restoring Little Town Hall which is 2000 square feet and presently not being used. The roll up door will be restored and a 49 person Little Town Hall Meeting Room will be added, this room will be acoustically separate from the office space on this floor. The room will be wired for sound, video and CATV. The historic balcony will be restored and a glass wall will be placed at the back of the balcony. The balcony will be the only space in the town hall which is not handicapped accessible. The elevator will go from the basement level to the Little Town Hall level.

The building space currently used in the Town Hall is 22%, with a cost of $22,000 annually for oil and electric. When the project is completed 100% of the space will be utilized with an estimated annual energy cost of $40,204. The renovations will include switching from oil to a gas-fired boiler. There will be no energy savings from moving the offices over from the Library (Knowlton-Risteen building) as the Library plans on expanding in to the office space presently being used by town offices.

The bottom line; the total cost of the project is $6, 524,111 of which 94% will be paid for with Community Preservation Act Funds. The portion the town is responsible for is $370,000 or 6%. How does this work? The Community Preservation Committee will put down $2,000,000 as a down payment. The remaining $4,524,111 will be borrowed on a 20 year bond with an annual payment of $288,832. The Town will use incoming Community Preservation Act Funds to pay $264,064 annually and the Towns Portion of the annual bond payment will be $24,768.

How do Community Preservation Act Funds work? About 8 years ago Upton passed the Act which allows the town to tax itself up to 3% to put in a fund to carry out certain activities including; historic preservation, open space, affordable housing and recreation. The state matches a percentage of CPA funds (close to 50%) if a town chooses the full 3% savings. The Town will use a portion of the CPA funds collected annually to pay for the annual bond payment for the Restoration Project.  Since the Town will not be using all CPA funds collected annually the Town will be able to save for other projects. The Town will use the CPA funds which have been saved and designated for this type of project for the $2,000,000 down payment. The Town Hall Renovation Project qualifies for the funds under historical preservation.

If the people of Upton pass the Restoration Project town offices presently housed at the Town Hall will be moved over to the old Holy Angels building across the street during the restoration. The Restoration Project is anticipated to take about a year to complete. The project would begin in June of this year and is scheduled to be completed by August of 2014.

If the Upton were to build a new Town Hall the Town would not be able to use any of the CPA funds.

Annual Town Meeting information and warrant can be found here.