ENFIELD — Town officials are looking for ways to scale back plans for a renovated Whitney Hall and new public safety building after estimates showed the projects could cost taxpayers more than $9 million.
The cost of a new 15,000-square-foot facility capable of bringing police, fire and ambulance operations under one roof could top $4.3 million, according to estimates provided by Breadloaf Corp, a Middlebury, Vt.-based architectural firm.
Meanwhile, the renovation and expansion of Whitney Hall could cost an additional $4.6 million, the firm recently reported to Enfield’s Municipal Facilities Advisory Committee.
The Whitney Hall costs are “appreciably higher” than committee members anticipated, Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth said Friday.
“Obviously, that’s why we go through this exercise, to have numbers grounded in reality,” he said. “Sometimes you have to have that reality checked.”
Aylesworth went on to say he is “a little discouraged” by the figures, adding that volunteers studying the building plans likely will look for ways to reduce costs while also making sure construction remains meaningful, he said.
The town is searching for 50- to 100-year infrastructure fixes, not short-term fixes, the town manager said.
The nine-member Municipal Facilities Advisory Committee has worked since April to determine how town properties should be maintained and whether new construction is needed.
The group was formed after a study earlier this year recommended construction of a public safety building to replace Enfield’s existing police, fire and EMS facilities, some of which are aging and would prove too costly to renovate.
White River Junction-based architect Jay Barrett also called on the town to renovate Whitney Hall to expand town offices and the library. At the time, he predicted the cost of a new emergency services facility alone could top $4.1 million, while a new town hall would likely cost $2.6 million.
Committee members have worked with architects and department heads to devise plans for both projects, Aylesworth said.
Plans submitted by Breadloaf show a five-bay public safety building with offices, locker rooms and storage facilities for the town’s first responders.
The company also has plans for Whitney Hall, which could see its footprint nearly doubled through an addition to the rear of the more than 118-year-old building.
A new lobby would invite residents to the ground floor, which would house new space for the town clerk’s office, assessor, land use administrator and town manager. The floor also would have library storage space.
The Enfield Public Library, which occupies the building’s second floor, also would see its size almost double under the proposal. Floor plans show a new teen area and expanded stacks and reading space for patrons.
The library moved into Whitney Hall in 1901 and has been renovated only once, when the police department moved next door in 1993.
But librarians and the town’s library trustees have long said the space is too tight and an increasing demand for public computers makes it difficult to properly serve patrons.
In 2008, they unveiled plans for a $3.2 million building that would be located behind Whitney Hall, but an effort to request $2.5 million from taxpayers stalled in 2016.
“The current plan, the standalone building out back, is the plan until it’s not,” Dominic Albanese, chairman of the Board of Library Trustees said on Friday.
However, trustees are open to revisiting the standalone proposal “so long as our needs can be met in something that’s completely renovated,” he said.
Once the facilities committee makes its final recommendations, the Board of Library Trustees will consider the plans, Albanese said. The group also will decide whether to approach donors — who raised just under $1 million in donations for the standalone project — to back the new project.
“We’re pretty happy with the collaboration with the town,” Albanese said of the committee’s efforts. “It seems like a potential win-win all the way around.”
Meanwhile, Whitney Hall’s top floor, where Shaker Bridge Theatre is located, would see a smaller expansion with designs showing expanded storage spaces and new bathrooms.
Aylesworth said the committee also is considering an alternative plan the committee is reviewing that could cost less but leave town officials and the library with less space.
The proposal would create a smaller addition on the bottom floor, which could be used for town offices and a meeting room.
Meanwhile, the library would expand to the top floor, where Shaker Bridge Theatre builds sets, rehearses and performs plays during its season, which typically runs from October to April.
Aylesworth said consultants haven’t yet priced the alternative proposal, adding that it is still in its early stages of review.
Bill Coons, Shaker Bridge’s artistic director, said he knew “absolutely nothing about what the committee is doing” when contacted by phone on Friday.
“Nobody has said a word to me,” he said.
However, he sent an email a few minutes later saying the plans are “only ideas at this point.”
“Ryan (Aylesworth) has been up-front with me about what’s going on and will certainly include me in the future when actual plans are being formulated. I’ll be kept in the loop when a loop actually exists,” he said, adding, “Let’s not create a conflict where there is none.”
The facilities committee intends to continue exploring options into the coming year and likely will schedule public forums for next month, Aylesworth said.
A public outreach campaign would take place before any projects are proposed at either the 2020 or 2021 Town Meeting, he added.
“At the end of the day, this will be the town’s decision,” he said. “This is obviously a lot of dollars, and we want to have people as informed as possible.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.