Budget Committee questions whether new Town Hall plan is the right one

YORK - During their first formal look at the proposed $6.475 million Town Hall project, members of the Budget Committee voiced many questions and concerns about its timing and location.

While the committee's consensus was that something does need to be done to address the overcrowded state of the current York Town Hall, several board members said the proposal to locate a new facility on town-owned land behind Coventry Hall is not the best choice and the current fiscal year may not be the right time.

"I think the Coventry Hall property for the Town Hall is a major mistake," said Budget Committee member Lin Napier at the Feb. 14 meeting, describing the historic value of the property and questioning the location in terms of traffic impact on the already busy intersection of Long Sands and Woodbridge Roads.

Napier asked Board of Selectmen Vice Chairman David Marshall, who presented the Town Hall plans to the committee, to confirm whether the new owners of Coventry Hall would like to buy back the land from the town with an eye toward preserving it.

Marshall said the town had not received a formal offer, but acknowledged Melissa Murphy and Kevin Colglazier, the property's new owners, had expressed interest in purchasing the land.

"They certainly wouldn't be the only ones," Marshall added, stating that the town acquired more road frontage as part of its purchase of the land that would make the site appealing to developers. He also suggested the land could support a large-scale congregate residential development.

Napier said the parcel should never have been sold off from Coventry Hall, which has been named as one of York's most historic properties, and told the board, "In a perfect world, the town would sell it back to the new owners."

Marshall told the Budget Committee that the selectmen support preserving the history and architecture of York Village and creating a more pedestrian-friendly downtown and believe the new design fits with the character of the surrounding neighborhood.

Earlier the same week, Marshall shared the presentation of the project design during the Board of Selectmen's meeting, recapping the history of the project to date, and the defeat of a plan to locate a different design of Town Hall on the site last May.

"The committee regrouped and tried to take as much of that information as we could and incorporate it into the project," he said, of concerns such as the design of the building, location and size, adding, they tried to make sure that it was New England Colonial in appearance.

The size, Marshall said, is reasonable for the town's needs. The facility will include a full basement with community meeting space and storage as well as room for the town's various departments.

"A huge opportunity is the timing of the economy ... The building economy is down," he said.

The plan is to situate the building so that it can be seen from Long Sands Road, he said, so that, "If the people vote to endorse it, they'll be able to see their investment."

Budget Committee member Greg Filias said he appreciates the improved design of the building, but said more information is needed regarding traffic impact.

"That's kind of a weird place to have a lot of traffic happening," he said.

Budget Committee members also questioned why the Town Hall could not be located with a new public safety complex on a parcel of approximately 8.4 acres the town is proposing to purchase on Route 1 near Stonewall Kitchen.

"Can this site support a Town Hall and a police station in one building?" asked Budget Committee member Rick Boardman.

Town Manager Rob Yandow said that has not been explored.

"There hasn't been any discussion about locating the Town Hall and police station on one site and in one facility," he said of the parcel under consideration.

Yandow noted the Comprehensive Plan recommends keeping the Town Hall in the village, but not the police station.

"You are vetted with the town's safety, and yet why is it you are putting comfort before public safety in this town?" said Steve Samborksi, acknowledging that the current Town Hall is "an uncomfortable place. People are stacked up like wood" but stating, "the priority need, for me, is to have a police station, a modern facility ... so that our police are well-trained and can respond to our needs."

Yandow and Marshall explained that the search for land for both a municipal complex and a public safety facility were happening simultaneously, but that the York Village land was only appropriate for the municipal use.

"It's a very good place for a Town Hall, but a very poor place for a police station," Marshall said.

"It's not a matter of placing the priority of a Town Hall over the priority of a police station," Yandow told the Budget Committee, stressing that all are in agreement about the need for a new police facility.

In terms of the preference for locating Town Hall in the village, Filias said, "I don't understand why we're using an archaic Comprehensive Plan."

"Can't the Comprehensive Plan be amended?" Napier asked, adding, "... My concern is, we're spending $7 million here, $6 million there - why aren't we consolidating these into one building?"

In response to questions from the committee, Yandow explained that both the town's property on Bog Road and the former CMP building site were examined, but the Bog Road parcel would require significant access and site improvements and the selling price of the former CMP building was prohibitive.

Marshall said the selectmen had considered collocation in the past, but the goal of locating the new Town Hall in the village is important because it serves as an "anchor tenant" keeping local businesses from leaving the center of town.

"The very best way we can help them and help our own history is to keep our Town Hall in the village," he said.

The Budget Committee is now scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Town Hall project, funding for land for a police station and other capital and operating budget requests for fiscal 2009 at its Feb. 26 meeting at the York Public Library at 6 p.m.