Meredith Selectboard recommends public works building for town office space

MEREDITH — Selectboard member Mike Pelczar heard there were furnace problems going on at the Town Hall annex, which was just the most recent issue in the building. He recommended looking at moving the planning and development employees into a public works building on Daniel Webster Highway

“I recommend that we get the move started,” Pelczar told the selectboard Sept. 28.

Pelczar referred to past conversations with the board about the annex, and the potential for the building, which he referred to as the “blue building,” to be a proper location for planning and development employees. He said the board was trying to get a walkthrough set up to see if the building could structurally handle it.

He said then-Town Manager Judie Milner had a space needs committee set for a meeting at the end of October, and suggested expediting this, due to the furnace malfunction, so money isn’t wasted. Pelczar told the board he himself went to the building to check the feasibility of using it.

“When I went in, Craig [Hale] happened to be there,” Pelczar said. “It was midday when I stopped in. I looked through the whole thing, and the building looks like it could easily handle our needs as we move forward.”

He added the annex is a “troubled building” in far worse shape than the one on Daniel Webster Highway. He acknowledged the building, which is currently a sign-making facility and a storage area, may someday be sold, or even demolished for a parking lot. However, it’s still going to be worth the same amount of money.

“So, we’re not losing,” he said.

He recommended the committee start the move. He said after personally viewing the office space needs, there are ways to disguise the sign shop area so as not to bother other employees. Pelczar said it appears to have enough room to house what is needed.

“We keep dumping money into a building that is not worth it,” Pelczar said. “There’s a levy of problems there. This seems like a good stop gap moving forward, as far as I’m concerned.”

Selectboard member Jeanie Forrester asked if they need to have a committee handle this, or if it can be authorized by the board. Chair Steve Aiken didn’t think the board needed to authorize anything, and the move can just be directed. He said heat and hot water just need to be turned on.

Pelczar didn’t expect the move to happen overnight, but he wanted to get the ball rolling with the committee, highway department and other necessary departments to figure out the best situation.

“Committee, no committee, I personally think it’s a good move,” Pelczar said.

The building was once the home of the police department and a court, and has been used lately as a storage area and sign-making shop. At the Aug. 10 meeting, Pelczar asked Public Works Director Craig Hale to discuss the current use and see if it seemed like a good spot. He also said during the meeting there were once talks of selling the building.

The building and grounds department is technically assigned to the building, Hale said, but employees work out of the new highway garage. It has a break space, locker rooms and a storage container. The building stores supplies like nuts, bolts, toilets, holiday lights, paint, and battery chargers.

Hale also said in the meeting there were three empty offices, which was appealing to Pelczar, who said during the meeting this could be a place to relocate the planning and development department. He cited the Town Hall annex as problematic and environmentally unsafe due to mold. It also has easy parking, while the annex is on Main Street, where parking is often at a premium.

The roof was also replaced only four years ago, and Hale said it is structurally sound. He told Forrester during that meeting he thought it could be a good space for planning and development, noting both departments often have the same customers.

Pelczar said Thursday this conversation would likely pick back up at the Oct. 26 selectboard meeting, to gauge what Interim Town Manager Michael Harper thought. Harper confirmed the discussion will continue at the upcoming meeting, and said the idea does sound feasible.

“I think there are limited options, and I think that could be at least a viable option,” Harper said.

Harper said the annex building is old and in need of repairs, including the furnace. He said the annex does have heat, but “not the full system” currently.

Pelczar agreed with Harper, saying Thursday he knows what he wants to see happen with the “blue building.”

“I see nothing but a positive move,” Pelczar said.

The discussion will take place at the meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, at Meredith Community Center.