Boards mull options for Town Hall upgrades in Dracut

By Dennis Shaughnessey, Lowell Sun

DRACUT – Selectman George Malliaros looked through the window of the community room in the M.G. Parker Library, across the parking lot at Dracut Town Hall.

“It’s a beautiful building. Quaint, New England. But to think that people have to work in those conditions is unacceptable,” Malliaros said, speaking at a joint meeting with the Finance and Capital Planning committees. “I still don’t see why we can’t use Harmony Hall. I understand that it’s convenient to put everybody in the same building but maybe it’s just not feasible right now.”

Voters shot down a $9 million Proposition 2 1/2 debt-exclusion request for a new town hall in December, forcing town officials to scramble with alternative plans to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A recent proposal by C&G Associates in Dracut, estimates that the Town Hall on Arlington Street and the Town Hall Annex on Spring Park Road, could be brought to code for as little as $250,000.

Work would involve widening some doors, bringing the restrooms up to code and providing a second means of egress on the first floor. Selectman Robert Cox suggested moving forward with C&G’s recommendation, which includes cutting into the already cramped veterans office to create a hallway and rear entrance. Other suggestions included moving the veterans office across the hall to a break room that is already jammed with filing cabinets from the accountant’s office. Moving the assistant town manager and selectmen’s office from the second floor to the first floor and utilizing the cavernous selectmen’s chambers for storage is also an option.

“On the face of it, the work that needs to be done doesn’t sound like a lot,” Cox said. “If we can get an extension with the court and get the work done, it buys us time.”

Apart from the consent decree, state regulations require that if the cost of the work exceeds 30 percent of the assessed value of the building, then the entire building must comply with all standards for new construction.

“The bottom line is that I’ve asked the question more than once. ‘What do we have to do to get out from under (the court decree)?’” said Selectman Joe DiRocco. “Tonight, I’m finding out that the numbers are all different, and we have to address the access code if we go over 30 percent. That’s a far cry from what we have been told.”

While the $250,000 price tag seemed like a practical solution to many committee members, Selectman James O’Loughlin said he would not support the plan.

“I don’t think for a minute that this is temporary or a Band-Aid approach. Whatever we do over there is going to be the final solution,” he said. “If we do this, we better get used to living in there for the next 15 to 20 years.”