Minutes of Bradford Town Hall Restoration Oversight Committee (THROC) Meeting, 8/4/16
The meeting was held at the Bradford Area Community Center (BACC) and was called to order at 5:35pm by Brackett Scheffy, moderator. Present were Marcia Keller, Will Kranz, Jim Bibbo, Michele Halsted and Harry Wright.
- Minutes of the July 14 meeting were approved after revision to change “not seconded” to “tabled”.
- Scott Mckenney did not attend.
- A motion was presented by Michele Halsted, from the RHC, modified from the motion presented at the 7/14 meeting:
“Whereas Bradford Town Hall has been honored with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places and has been identified as one of NH’s most important and endangered cultural and historic landmarks worthy of saving, Town Hall Restoration Oversight Committee pledges to strive to retain the LCHIP Grant and matching donations and gifts-in-kind.
We hereby commit to honor grant-associated guidance and stewardship commitments signed by the Selectmen for the Town of Bradford. THROC deems this action to be in the best interests of the town, its taxpayers, the generous majority of voters and the 150-strong community of donors and volunteers who have embraced the restoration.”
After discussion, the motion as presented was made by Jim Bibbo, seconded by Marcia Keller. The motion carried, 6 yes, 0 no.
- An abbreviated version of 3. (above) was discarded since 3. Passed.
- Harry Wright made the motion “The THROC will make all plans, decisions, and suggestions to the selectmen based on the inclusion of a full basement.”
After discussion, “suggestions” was changed to “recommendations”. The motion as submitted reads:
“The THROC will make all plans, decisions, and recommendations to the selectmen based on the inclusion of a full basement.”
Motion made by Harry Wright, seconded by Jim Bibbo. The motion carried 4 yes, 0 no, 2 abstain. Will Kranz and Michele Halsted abstained, awaiting additional information.
- ADA access at the NE corner of the building was discussed at length.
- Jim Bibbo reported on his research that ADA access should be as close as practical to the place the user will be going. (Administrator and Town Clerk office in this case, as well as the main room for elections).
- Michele Halsted suggested that removing a window and inserting a door in this corner would be ugly and not in keeping with the historical perspective of the room.
- Use of the existing front doors was suggested. There were several issues discussed with regard to that approach:
- The ramp work would be extensive and impact the historic ‘look’ of the front of the building.
- The existing doors are too small, would require replacement and significant rework to the doorways, adversely affecting the historical character of the building.
- A question was raised re: having the doors open inward to minimize the effect of the previous points. The doors have to open outward in a public building for safety reasons.
- The Fire Marshall, LCHIP and a representative from the Department of Historic Resources (DHR) had suggested putting the ADA access on the east wall at the front of the building. Existing architectural plans incorporate this approach and would have a hallway linking this doorway to the entryway inside the existing front doors.
- Recent events have required revision to the existing plans:
- The elementary school will no longer be available for elections. The meeting room on the east side of Town Hall is large enough (barely) to accommodate elections.
- Adding the ADA access hallway (and the wall intended to separate the room from the Town Clerk’s and Administrator’s offices) would make the space too small for elections.
- Discussion followed on the use of the room and the benefits of removing the walls at the southeast corner of the room to restore the room to its original size.
- It would restore the old portion of the building to its original layout.
- It would add space to the room for more adequately serving elections.
- The historic tin ceiling and floor still exists in this area. Removing these walls (40-50 years old?) would be simple, not impact structural integrity, and be applauded by LCHIP and the DHR.
- If these walls were removed, a new look at the ADA access would be possible (putting the door further ‘south’ on the wall in an area where windows would not be compromised).
- The committee agreed to review this alternative and discuss at the next meeting.
- The need for a “Project Consultant” (PC) or General Contractor (GC) was revisited. A PC for now, but someone with GC experience in the local area is required to share knowledge at meetings and get quotes on various aspects of the project as the committee prepares for funding requests for next town meeting.
- Harry Wright to contact Scott Mckenney for update on his interest and time availability.
- Funding for the PC/GC will need to be defined, not from the existing RHC account.
- Other business – Michele will be away through mid-October. Jen Richardson will be the RHC member of the THROC in the interim.
- Next meeting date: no date was set.
Meeting adjourned 7:15pm
Respectfully submitted,
Harry Wright