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Belmont selectmen debate moving offices into the mill, demolishing bank building and funding options
Summary
Selectmen discussed plans to move planning and code enforcement into the mill, the deteriorating condition of an old bank building and the costs and funding options for renovating town facilities including grants, bonding and using the municipal facilities fund.
Board members discussed a multi-faceted plan to consolidate town offices into the mill and address an adjacent bank building in poor condition, with members debating funding approaches and grant eligibility.
Staff (S1) said the town is prioritizing moving planning and code enforcement into the mill as a first step, noting space needs and potential savings from consolidating operations. "We're actually going to try to sit with [staff] and get the planning department moved into the mill," S4 (Chair) said, summarizing the plan to rehouse functions incrementally.
Members raised concerns about the bank building's structural condition and the cost of demolition or rehabilitation. The board reported an earlier demolition quote (about $36,000 for the building and $2,000 for a retaining wall from a 2022 estimate) and said it had asked for an updated quote. Several selectmen argued that leaving the building in place creates safety and aesthetics problems and that grant opportunities for historic rehabilitation might be available if the town consolidates offices and documents historic significance.
Financing options were hotly debated. Some members favored using the town's municipal facilities revolving account to fund incremental moves and IT upgrades, while others worried that tapping the fund would simply postpone asking voters to approve a larger bond. The board discussed the trade-offs between bonding (longer debt but larger one-time payment), small annual set-asides and aggressive grant-seeking. One member estimated the town had been putting a modest amount annually into a building fund and suggested continuing that approach while pursuing targeted grants.
Accessibility and operations were part of the discussion: members noted elevator cost estimates and ADA access needs if offices are moved to an upper floor, and emphasized that IT migration will be the largest short-term cost to move functions.
No final vote to move town hall or demolish the bank building was taken; the board directed staff to get updated cost estimates, explore grant options for historic-rehab funding and report back at a future meeting.
