Town 'Determined' After '15 Years of Mucking Around'

After months and months of asking, town officials finally got their wish Monday night when a crowd of roughly 100 people packed Town Hall to weigh in on the North Hampton municipal complex project.

North Hampton selectmen and town employees have been trying to get more resident involvement during various stages of the roughly $6.08 million project, which will appear before voters on the March town meeting warrant.

Monday night's three-hour forum — which featured a so-called "spirited" discussion that revealed many new ideas and concerns — was a stark difference from some of the sparsely-attended recent meetings related to the project. Officials said it was a great thing to have, especially since some residents said they are starting to see why town employees say there is a need for the work.

"When I first heard of the proposal for a [centralized town campus on Atlantic Avenue] for $6 million, my [frugal] Yankee spending complex kicked in," said a Cedar Road man, whose views on the work shifted slightly after taking a tour of the existing facilities. "It was certainly eye-opening to see the condition of the fire station and the police station."

Others expressed similar views during the meeting, which also featured talk about the need to add more parking to the complex in addition to more concerns about the overall space usage and actual needs of the town.

There were also several residents who opposed or questioned the need for various parts of the complex proposal, which Town Administrator Paul Apple said is projected to increase the town's tax rate by 30 to 35 cents but cost about $400,000 to $700,000 less than the many renovations and upgrades that many say must be done to existing facilities if the project doesn't pass in March.

"I like the plan, but it has to be tweaked, though," said Joe Kutt, founder of the abutting Joe's Meat Shoppe. "Parking is always your biggest problem... I know it costs money... but [the municipal complex] is needed in this town."

Consulting architect Ron Lamarre, of Lavalle Brensinger, said a high level of community involvement — even those dissenting and questioning views — are exactly what the project needs to really address North Hampton's needs.

"If there's this kind of community participation — 'What about this? What about this? What about this? — it’s going to make this a better project as we move along," said Lamarre.

The overall aesthetic of the buildings still has yet to be decided, although officials say that will come within the next month or so as they continue to fully dedicate themselves to bringing the project to fruition. 

"The one thing this board is determined to do, after 15 years of mucking around with studies... [is] we want to put what we think is a reasonable and prudent proposition before the voters to decide," said Wilson, who also said the project is still "all evolving" and asked locals to "vote your confidence" in March no matter what way they feel on the project.

Lamarre will now take the input from Monday's forum and work with town officials and department heads to make "any tweaks necessary," according to Jim Maggiore, chairman of the North Hampton Select Board.

Maggiore said the interior designs of the buildings will be discussed and ironed out as they "narrow... down" the project between Oct. 29 and Nov. 8.

The exterior architecture and aesthetics will be the focus from Nov. 11 to Nov. 15, while another presentation will be held between Nov. 18 and Nov. 22 to update residents on the project, according to Maggiore. A computer-generated 3D model showing building elevations and their relationship to the surrounding area will be shown at that time.

The project will start to become finalized by Nov. 25, after which small adjustments will be made before the warrant article is completed by Dec. 15. Maggiore said the town is "looking to get input from the public" at "all points" of the timeline.

"For 15 years... almost $100,000 in plans have been sitting on the shelf," said Maggiore. "The train's left the station now. We're going to put this on the warrant in March, but we want to make sure everyone's informed and  knowledgeable... to make a good decision."

Officials want residents to come out and take an inside look at the current buildings. Apple said he will "accommodate" any resident's schedule to personally make that kind of tour happen.