Permanent Building Committee Talks Town Hall Renovation Projects

The Permanent Building Committee last night discussed renovations for the Center and North Town Halls and what construction should and should not be done in an effort to save money.

Going through various items ranging from everything to roof repair and trim, the committee saved an estimated cost of $177,700 on North Town Hall repairs and around $149,000 for Center Town Hall.

One item discussed for North was the removal of the folding wall in the after-school room, which would save an estimated $35,000.

“(Of that we would) hold $5,000 for the technology we said we’d offer so we could buy laptops and that kinds of stuff (for the building),” said Committee Chairman Pat Maloney.

A saving measure for Center Town Hall was a decision to replace office doors with new off-the-shelf four panel doors instead of matching ones made to match the current custom jobs. Along with putting hollow metal frames, the committee believed it could net up to $800 in savings.

“Instead of matching six doors to one existing, let’s just have all doors off the shelves,” said architect Jennifer Hocherman of BH+A, who addressed the committee.

One point of controversy on North  Town Hall was the possible removal of sound attenuators in the auditorium, which two audience members at the meeting felt could harm its acoustics for performances. Addressing the matter of the attenuators, which curb white noise, committee member Dave Duane said he would talk with engineers about the matter during a meeting on Friday. Maloney also promised the committee would handle the matter with care.

“We’ll do the research and make sure the right thing is done,” said Maloney.  

Given the choice of four alternate heating options for the buildings in a memo by Allied Engineering, committee members opted to explore the second, with forced heating through ducts and getting rid of a main boiler.

“(It’s) similar to the Senior Center, the way it is now,” said Town Facilities Manager Gary Persichetti.

No general contractor has been granted a bid for the project yet, a point of discussion for the committee. After discussion about contractor eligibility, they voted to open up the process with the goal of putting a company in place in August, with eleven total months to work on and final the restoration for both Town Halls.