Score one for the big old hall on Dale Avenue.
Sounding off on the potential relocation of Gloucester government to the Fuller School building, residents at Tuesday's "listening post" had one overwhelming sentiment: it's not City Hall if it's not downtown.
Concerns about a loss of economic activity and vitality downtown dominated discussions, but close behind was the fear that removing municipal workers from the historic 140-year-old building would be the first step on the road to eventually condemning it.
"If you take the people out of this place, it will no longer be here," said Old Nugent Farm Road resident and Planning Board member Henry McCarl. "Because all of these ideas of turning it into something else will not happen."
"A downtown campus makes a lot of sense," said John Orlando of the Downtown Development Commission and Harborview Inn. "Downtown is where our money is invested. If we take investment out, who will come?"
An unofficial tally of speakers and letter writers at the listening post favored a downtown city government campus by a count of 16-5.
The meeting came after the release of a report last month recommending the consolidation of municipal offices in one area — either in a downtown campus focused around City Hall or within a refurbished former Fuller School building at Blackburn Circle.
Right now, city office workers are scattered across Gloucester from City Hall, to the CATA building on Pond Road, to the Department of Public Works on Poplar Street to the school district administrative offices at Fuller.
The facilities report notes that the current arrangement causes those doing business with the city to waste time and money driving from place to place and hinders communication between city departments.
Supporters of the Fuller plan, led by City Councilor and former City Clerk Bob Whynott, pointed to how much would need to be done to the current City Hall for it to resemble modern office space.
"This building is not suitable for office use — not in this century," Whynott said. "You can't heat it. It is an unhealthy building. There is stuff in this building they don't even know what it is."
Whynott blames substances in the walls of City Hall for causing lung problems that contributed to him retiring as City Clerk last year.
David Anderson of Middle Street said he would normally never advocate moving something away from downtown, but the Fuller plan just appears more practical than a civic campus.
"Practicality says the best place is where everyone can be at Fuller," Anderson said.
Neither the Fuller plan nor a downtown campus will be cheap.
The facilities study outlining possible building options estimates that renovating Fuller so it can be used as offices could cost $6.8 million, without taking into account what to do with the vacated City Hall. A landmark on the national register of historic places, no one has yet advocated razing City Hall.
To create enough space to house all workers downtown, the city would need to put an addition on City Hall — $5.2 million — and then transform the current Central Fire Station into an office building at an estimated cost of between $5.4 and $7.1 million.
Of course, that plan hinges on the construction of a new fire station, something the facilities report recommends on land next to Fuller off of Blackburn Circle.
To help pay for the downtown plan, the city may sell the Fuller property, which is considered one of the most commercially valuable municipally-owned parcels.
As for what could be done with City Hall if municipal employees move out, Whynott suggested a coffee shop, book shop and rental space for functions. Without any expansion, the cost of refurbishing City Hall long term is estimated at $4.2 million.
The host of Tuesday's "listening post," Mayor Carolyn Kirk, said she intends to discuss the issue with residents at a series of upcoming events focusing on infrastructure, and then at another "listening post" in May. After that, she said she would likely propose a course of action to City Council.
While most of the arguments for keeping city workers downtown focused on keeping the central city vibrant and economically viable, Damon Cummings of Washington Street pointed to the controversy surrounding another government body that moved close to Fuller.
"Look what happened to the National Marine Fisheries Service when they moved to Blackburn," Cummings said.
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
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