By Jonathan L'Ecuyer
ROCKPORT — The town's Planning Board is proposing an annual Town Meeting warrant article calling for the purchase of the Granite Savings Bank building, located adjacent to Town Hall at 26 Broadway.
The Planning Board, Building Study Committee and Capital Improvement Planning Committee have been working together recently on long-range plans for the town's municipal buildings, and have identified Town Hall should be Rockport's top priority.
The Planning Board will outline its proposal to the Board of Selectmen at tonight's meeting sometime between 8:10 and 9 p.m. The proposal is expected to include using the former bank building as additional town office or work space.
The building, which is listed with Beaton Real Estate for $849,900, has become a point of contention in town as some residents wanted the town to purchase the 4,500-square-foot building for use as a senior center, while others believed the community couldn't afford it or, if it was purchased, would not be properly used or maintained.
Voters at last fall's Town Meeting rejected an article aimed at acquiring the former Granite Savings Bank building for use as a senior center by a 220-80 vote. The vote came after residents had already approved a $2.2 million renovation of the Community House, with space set aside for a senior center in that facility.
In that case, the author of the bank purchase proposal, Christopher Lewis, introduced the article but never spoke in support of it — much to the dismay of several residents who stepped up to the microphones and asked Lewis to answer several questions.
The Planning Board points to a 1997 study of town-owned buildings and a 2000 Smart Planning Report that both recommend increasing office space in Town Hall to accommodate for growing staff and increasing state and federal mandates for additional programs.
According to Planning Board Chairman Samuel Coulbourn, downtown is where residents expect town government to be centered and purchasing the bank building could be instrumental in the future as the town continues to grow.
For more on this story, look to tomorrow's print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
