To the Editor:

Building the new town building on the VFW site, by some estimates, could save the town of Marion $5-6 million in comparison with renovating the Town House – even if the square foot size of the Town House renovation is reduced.

By selling the Town House with a deed restriction requiring the developer to maintain the historic character of the structure, building on the VFW site saves money and meets the goal of preserving an historic landmark, the Town House. In addition, a senior and community center could be constructed as part of a new town administrative complex at the VFW site.

Here is why building on the VFW site is a less expensive and better option:

• New construction is always significantly less expensive than renovating an existing building, particularly an historic building under the public procurement rules. Some builders estimate building new could save as much as 50 percent, assuming the same square footage.

• A one story building at the VFW will be less expensive than renovating the three-story Town House because it won’t require stairs and elevators, among other things.

• In the case of historic renovations, no matter how good the architects, it is impossible to anticipate all costs. There are just too many unknowns until the builder starts tearing out walls. Change orders are particularly costly under the public procurement rules. While there will be change orders with a new building, there will be many more with an historic renovation, and they become particularly costly under the public procurement rules. Thus, the renovation of the Town House is much more likely to end up significantly over budget than constructing a new building at the VFW site.

Reducing square feet in the case of the Town House renovation project is unlikely to result in significant cost savings, given that it is a complex renovation of an historic building. The cost savings are not linear. By that, we mean a 25 percent reduction in square footage will not reduce cost by 25 percent.

• The Town House Building Committee has stated the estimated cost to the town of remediating the mold and asbestos at the Town House is $1 million. Once again, the cost to the town is high because of public procurement rules. For that reason, a developer will be able to take on responsibility for the remediation at significantly less cost, by some estimates 30 percent or more, because of not being subject to the public procurement rules. Even if the developer pays the town only $1 more than the assumed liability for the remediation, building on the VFW site immediately saves the town an estimated $1 million by avoiding the remediation cost.

• Turning the Town House into condos, apartments or assisted living, which our aging population desperately needs, will generate additional tax revenue for the town.

• A senior center and community center can be part of this new complex on the 6.5-acre VFW site and will cost less to the town than renovating the Town House and then paying to build a senior and community center at the VFW site.

The Selectmen and the Town House Building Committee have a duty to evaluate the option of building a new town administrative building on the VFW site. An article should be added to the warrant for the May 2017 Town Meeting to provide funding for the THBC to hire an architect to prepare preliminary plans and cost estimates for building at the VFW site. This should be done as expeditiously as possible to give the THBC time to educate the citizens of Marion on both options: renovating the existing Town House and building new at the VFW site before a Special Town Meeting in October 2017.

Prior to the Special Town Meeting in Oct. 2017, the THBC needs to hold a number of public hearings to objectively present the pros and cons of both options to the citizens of Marion. It has responsibility to do so objectively as representatives of the residents of Marion and not to sell one option over the other.

As a final step, an article should be placed on the warrant for the Special Town Meeting in October 2017 allowing citizens to vote on the two options. Given the magnitude of the dollars at stake here, the voters would be extremely disturbed to have the Town House renovation project move ahead without the opportunity to vote on it and without equal consideration being given to a new building on the VFW site.

This proposal allows the town of Marion to maintain an historic building such as the Town House, to build a significantly less expensive, appropriately sized and efficient one-story building at the VFW site and to include a new senior/community center as part of the complex at the VFW site.

It is in the interest of all concerned parties to proceed in an open and balanced manner with input from the voters. This requires evaluating the option of building at the VFW site, informing the voters on the merits of this option, and giving the citizens of Marion a chance to vote on which of the two options is best for the town: renovating the Town House or building at the VFW site.

Sincerely,

John Waterman

Marion