By Jonathan L'Ecuyer
Staff Writer
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ROCKPORT — Officials plan to ask fall Town Meeting for money to prepare the former Granite Savings Bank building for use by the town, but a new approach that could lead to even bigger changes has been proposed.
Plans originally called for town employees to move into the bank building to both relieve overcrowding and allow for renovations at Town Hall. However, those plans changed at the request of the Building Study and Capital Improvement Planning committees as well as others who urged selectmen to take a step back and take a more comprehensive look at the area.
"We're not suggesting re-doing studies completed before, but rather taking an honest re-look to make sure we're doing the right thing," Selectman Sandy Jacques said Wednesday. "We have time to do it; we should make sure our thinking is correct."
Public Works Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Burbank said the Public Works Department is now advertising to hire architects and engineers for conceptual study services.
In the interim, selectmen plan to ask fall Town Meeting for a still undetermined amount of money to purchase partitions and other materials to convert the bank building into conference rooms and meeting space.
A second proposed warrant article would ask the Sept. 13 meeting to approve spending for the conceptual design, which would include looking at how best to utilize Town Hall, the bank building, the parking lot linking those buildings, and the fire station across the street.
According to Jacques, the Public Works Commissioners would appoint a committee similar to the Community House Building Committee that would be in charge of the municipal facilities project. Another committee, similar to the Community House Users Committee, would also be formed, Jacques added.
Planning Board Vice Chairman Samuel Coulbourn warned selectmen that such a proposal may appear to some residents as a "bait and switch."
Coulbourn reminded selectmen that when town officials, including the Planning Board, were recommending purchasing the bank building, they did it by promising that the building would be used as office space and that, simultaneously, Town Hall would be renovated.
Toby Arsenian echoed Coulbourn's sentiments, saying the new plan is "not at all what was presented when people were sold on buying the (bank building)."
Jacques said it's a good time for officials to consider what should be done with Town Hall. Ideas range from renovating the building, to razing it and building a new one, to switching Town Hall offices with the fire station.
The engineers hired to complete the conceptual plan would have plenty of other studies to pull from, officials said.
The Building Study Committee measured the space used by each department at Town Hall, then created draft floor plans of the adjacent bank building, incorporating those offices into the space.
Spring Town Meeting approved the town's acquisition of the Broadway building for $699,500, and went on to back an amendment that allowed the town to seal the deal without going through a tax-limiting Proposition 21/2 override vote.
The Planning Board, Building Study and Capital Improvement Planning committees have all been working on long-range plans for the municipal buildings, and late last year decided the needs of Town Hall should finally rise to the top of Rockport's list of priorities.
Officials who supported the bank building's purchase referenced a 1997 study of town-owned buildings and a 2000 Smart Planning Report that both recommended increasing office space for Town Hall to accommodate a growing staff and expanding state and federal mandates for additional programs.
Another issue selectmen will address in the near future is what to do with the 14 town-owned parking spaces in front of the bank building. The spaces are now roped off except for use on Sundays by parishioners of St. Mary's Church.
While selectmen are in agreement that the parking lot should not be used for overnight parking, some expressed differing opinions regarding whether the lot should be open to residents, nonresidents or both.
The Traffic Committee is expected to consider the issue and provide selectmen with a recommendation by the time selectmen meet again on Aug. 10.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
