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Advisory committee seeks more time to complete Edward Marks (Poor House) restoration plans
Summary
The Edward Marks Building Advisory Committee updated the Select Board on preservation-focused exterior work, outlined bidding and CPC funding plans, and requested an extension to complete specifications and bidding documents for exterior restoration and site improvements.
Barbara Wayand, chair of the Edward Marks Building Advisory Committee, briefed the Select Board April 13 on the committee’s multi-year preservation effort for the municipally owned Edward Marks (Poor House) building. She described the building’s colonial-era origins and 19th-century additions, noted an 1888 photograph used as a reference, and explained that a preservation restriction with the Massachusetts Historical Commission governs work to preserve the building’s historic character.
Wayand said interior work over the last years created space for the town’s health and human services department. The committee aims to move exterior restoration to the next stage this year by completing bidding documents and seeking Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funds; the CPC deadline is in August and the committee asked the board to extend its authorization so it can complete the work and file necessary applications.
She described the committee’s decision to retain DHK (Boston) to assume project management responsibility for bid documents and contractor oversight and summarized phased preservation work focused on long-term building stability rather than aesthetic renovation.
Select Board members asked about potential title transfer to a nonprofit to broaden eligibility for state and foundation grants; Wayand said a prior effort to transfer title did not succeed because the town prioritized continued municipal occupancy by human services. The committee confirmed it will avoid irreversible changes inconsistent with the preservation restriction and will pursue CPC and MassHistoric avenues for exterior funds.
What’s next: The committee will finalize specifications, apply for CPC funding in August, and return to the Select Board for any required approvals and to request the committee extension.
