Engineers recommend vacating Brookline Town Hall after severe structural failures; Selectboard to seek funds

John Turner of Team Engineering told the Brookline Selectboard that Town Hall has multiple serious structural failures and that continued occupancy is unsafe without substantial intervention. "Thirteen of the 16 first-floor structural members failed safety standards," Turner said, and engineers identified beams and columns overloaded far beyond design limits, including one beam cited at roughly 2,200% overload and a column at roughly 300% overload. He also described rotten truss members above the auditorium seating and basement columns that have been crushed into the floor.

Turner recommended that the town vacate Town Hall and perform interior demolition of the basement and first floor to allow engineers to design and install proper reinforcements, then renovate and reoccupy the building. He estimated that additional engineering design work could cost about $25,000 and that initial ballpark repair costs previously estimated at $1 million for roof work could rise to $2 million or more when all interior framing and alignment problems are corrected.

Selectboard Chair Eddie Arnold and colleagues discussed whether to ask voters for a $1 million bond at Town Meeting on March 14 or to wait for more refined estimates and call a special meeting later. Turner and Dan Morin agreed to pursue ballpark construction estimates to inform that decision. Board members also raised short-term staffing and space questions, including locating temporary office trailers or other space while renovations proceed; staff noted potential ADA limitations in some alternative sites.

The board directed staff and the engineering team to return with cost estimates and plans. The immediate procedural step is whether to place the $1 million bond question on the March 14 Town Meeting warrant; final design and demolition costs will be determined after further engineering work.