Budgetary dissent concerning renovation of the 1835 Town Hall dominated the agenda for the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on September 27. The decision on whether to invest more money into reconstructing Sterling’s signature building’s roof has been a hot-button issue ever since the projects inception in 2014. Tension between proponents of the project and taxpayers irritated by the ever-increasing budget to restore the building was again met with dissent after architect Jim Booth presented the panel with new evidence of significant damage to the architecture that would require larger than anticipated investment for restoration.
“Our engineers are moving to make the most economical way to repair the roof,” Booth of J.M. Booth Associates told the Board of Selectmen.
Robert McKay Jones, Chairman of the 1835 Town Hall Committee, said (via email) that the project requires an additional $48,000 due to the added structural reinforcement required.
“To pay for this, we have taken some things out of the current contract (like gypsum, plaster, electrical, and other items) to make room for these new structural repairs and they will be added back to a contract addendum using the funds we are securing from the $100,000 Cultural Facilities Fund grant. So we will be eating into the $100,000 grant for the $48,000 add-back leaving $52,000 for the Great Hall renovations we had planned for like lighting, sound baffling, audio visual, stage enhancements as well as any other surprises. No additional monies will be needed from the taxpayers.”
Part of the issue that continues to be a point of contention amongst detractors of the project is the perceived lack of work being done on the roof itself. Board of Selectmen Chair Richard Lane commented on the dormant state of construction, noting the scaffolding had been erected on the building, but has been “not a lot of activity” surrounding it.
Although a topic of study for years, town administrator Ross Perry contends that construction is underway as a result of two grants awarded to the town for the purpose of building renovation. “Work is on the way,” he says. “With any renovation of any building you’re going to find things that you initially didn’t anticipate were there.”
1835 Town Hall Committee member Jack Chandler echoed those statements, stating, “It’s difficult with an old building knowing what you’re going to find.”
Most of the scrutiny at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting was due to utilization of the follow-up grants. The roof repairs will be covered using $298,000 approved at the Annual Town Meeting in May, yet based upon further inspection, the structure of the original architecture is more unstable than previously thought. Booth defends the additional monetary need, saying that immediate repairs are mandatory. He did not specify a definitive cost, but according to Selectman Maureen Cranson, the figure will be more than the assessed value of the building.
Selectman John Kilcoyne stated that he wanted to see bi-weekly progress updates from the 1835 Town Hall Committee.