A recent survey by the Oak Bluffs planning board (OBPB) revealed that an overwhelming majority of townspeople agree that town hall is in sad shape, and that something must be done. At the same time, respondents were almost exactly split on the solution.
Of those surveyed, 28 percent voted to renovate the existing town hall, 29 percent voted for a new building, and 34 percent voted for the most cost-effective course of action.
At town meeting in 2014, voters overwhelmingly approved the expenditure to pay for a new $6.8 million town hall. The town has spent $171,000 on a feasibility study and initial plans for a new building by Falmouth-based architects Keenan + Kenny. The study concluded it would cost only $200,000 more to construct a new building than to renovate the existing one.
But on election day two weeks later, voters overwhelmingly rejected a debt exclusion new town hall. The debt exclusion for the new $8.6 million fire station, which also had been approved at town meeting by a wide margin, passed by only six votes.
The planning board survey revealed that the majority of the people who voted against a new town hall did so because they were against funding two capital projects in the same year. The survey also showed that 33 percent of respondents were either “not familiar” or “not even aware” of the issues that plague the building.
According to the assessor’s office, town hall was originally built as the Oak Bluffs School in 1925 — two years before the “talkies” first wowed moviegoing audiences. A fire in 1949 did significant damage, but the crumbling original foundation, made in part with beach sand, and at least one of the original oil-burning furnaces, still remain.
After doing time as the police station, the former school became Oak Bluffs town hall in 2000. It was intended to be a temporary home. But the subsequent disarray of Oak Bluffs town finances, and the financial crisis in 2008, put town hall troubles on the back burner.
Last week, The Times took a tour of Oak Bluffs town hall with building inspector Mark Barbadoro and selectman and building committee member Walter Vail.
Town hall tour
Significant problems were evident before even entering the building. The ramp leading to the entrance had a gutter-sized crack in the crumbling concrete. “We’ve had two complaints this summer from people who can’t get their loved ones in the building in a wheelchair,” Mr. Barbadoro said. The entry ramp is one of a litany of violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Entering the foyer, Mr. Barbadoro pointed to an emergency exit sign that doesn’t work. None do.
The linoleum tiles, which may contain asbestos, were so badly cracked in some places that they exposed the rotting wood beneath them. Also in the foyer, the main service panel, which does not lock, had exposed conductors that could deliver a 240-volt shock.
The ceiling tiles in the foyer were cracked and stained. This would be a recurring theme on the tour.
A bouquet of fetid smells greets people who use the restrooms. “It doesn’t matter how well you clean them,” Mr. Barbadoro said. “The smells are so ground into the grout, you can’t get them out.”
Although the fans in the bathrooms could help mitigate the offensive odors, none of them work. And none of the bathrooms were ADA compliant.
The peeling paint in conservation agent Liz Durkee’s office was a remnant of a leaking roof. The white walls had flourishes of dark mold, which is another recurring town hall theme.
“The floor tiles are disintegrating,” Ms. Durkee said. “I have to clean the dust off my shoes every time I get home. And we’re probably breathing it in.”
Entering the town administrators’ office required stepping over a puddle of black liquid, soot, and oil that leaked from one of the ancient furnaces. When Mr. Barbadoro opened the basement door to show pipes that were insulated with asbestos, he was greeted with an active water leak from a dormant boiler that was new in 1925.
“The main furnace broke down six times last year,” he said. “Even when it’s working, half of the building can be 80 degrees and the other half 50 degrees.”
The lack of adequate heating causes some town hall employees to use space heaters — one of which started a small fire last year. Had the fire been bigger, it could have spread quickly, because there is no sprinkler system in the building.
Town hall is also an energy sieve. “Most of the window frames are rotting,” Mr. Barbadoro said. “When the wind blows, the ceiling panels rattle.”
The meeting room on the ground floor had more stained ceiling tiles, wires dangling from above, a stained floor, a dozen desktop computer towers from the previous millennium collecting dust in a corner, and a large hole in the wall that is only partially covered by a map of Cottage City.
”People who went to school here said an old clock used to be there,” Mr. Vail said.
Mr. Vail said he and Mr. Barbadoro are working on an inventory of all the town buildings, giving them a grade A through F. Mr. Barbadoro didn’t want to get into detail as yet, but Mr. Vail said there was no question what building was the most deficient. “It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “This is clearly the one that needs help right away.”
Accessibility liabilities
Mr. Barbadoro said that the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (AAB) states that if the cost of accessibility improvements is more than one-third of the building’s assessed value, that building would have to be completely overhauled to all current AAB standards. “The AAB is much more strict than the ADA,” he said.
Town assessor David Bailey said that the school building’s assessed value is just over $1,000,000. At a selectmen’s meeting earlier in the year, Mr. Barbadoro told selectmen that aside from structural and safety issues, accessibility problems alone would cost roughly $300,000.
Underscoring the need for action, Mr. Barbadoro showed a 1996 letter from former building inspector Richard Mavro to the Massachusetts Office on Disability saying work had begun on “corrective measures.” The repairs only touched on a few of the many problems, and were not completed.
“We need some kind of solution, or the selectmen are going to hear from the AAB,” Mr. Barbadoro said. “We are exposed as a town to state and federal penalties. I carry no weight; the selectmen have to decide what we’re going to do.”
“We’re coming up on three years now,” Mr. Vail said, referring to the special town meeting in November 2013 when voters approved $240,000 for the feasibility study and plans that were eventually done by K + K architects. “This is not the way town hall ought to be,” he said. “How can you take pride in a building in this condition?”
Forums to be held
Planning board chairman Brian Packish told The Times that he and OBPB member Bo Fehl met last week with chairman of selectmen Gail Barmakian and Mr. Vail to map out an overall strategy that will begin with the evaluation of all town buildings by Mr. Barbadoro.
“We only have a report for one town building,” Mr. Packish said. “We want an accurate inventory of all town buildings with regard to accessibility and safety issues. Then we can take it to the people and see how they want to move forward.”
The forums will be a joint effort between the selectmen and the planning board. “We also look for input from the [financial advisory committee], the capital improvements committee, the building inspector, and the board of health,” he said. Mr. Packish said he expects the first public forum to be held in late September.
Mr. Vail said he hopes the forums will convince voters it’s time to act on a new town hall.
“Looking back, it was a mistake to ask the town to approve two capital projects in the same year, and the survey made that clear,” he said. “Now that we have a new fire station that was completed on time and on budget, I hope voters will have more confidence.”
Correction – At town meeting in 2014, voters overwhelmingly approved the expenditure, not the debt exclusion, for a new town hall, as was previously stated.
