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The Town Office has been located in the lower level of the Joslin Memorial Library building for at least twenty years. The vault—a former bank vault--is nearly out of space to store the Town's vital, historic, and land records. Space for day-to-day records storage, supplies, and basic operations is increasingly stressed. Prior years' financial records are stored off-site in a rented, non-heated storage unit. Zoning permits are stored in expensive, free-standing fireproof file cabinets, which are nearly at capacity. Another cabinet will be needed in this coming year, but there is no clear place to put it. The Town Office is not accessible to persons using wheelchairs. In August of this year it received 3 inches of flood water from Tropical Storm Irene. The need for increased Town Office space was identified as far back as the 1980s with a study of an addition at the Waitsfield Elementary School in 1981. The need for a new vault was first included in the capital budget in 1990 and new Town Office space was has been included every year since 1998. A Town Office Task Force was formed in 2010 to assess space needs, evaluate the various options, solicit public input, and make recommendations to the Selectboard regarding the expansion or relocation of the Town Office. Following a process of elimination, three sites were selected for further study for feasibility: (1) expansion of the Joslin Memorial Library; (2) a new building between the General Wait House and the Fire Station; and the Flemer barns adjacent to the Town-owned Flemer Field Community Green. Maclay Architects was hired in 2011 to support the work of the Task Force. The Town Office suffered flood damage by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. That, combined with lack of septic capacity and increased pressure for parking effectively eliminated the Library as a practical option for Town Office expansion. Funds are budgeted in 2012 to assist the TOTF and design team in soliciting public input; refining findings and cost estimates; presenting a recommendation to the Selectboard; and determining next steps for moving forward with the selected site. Regardless which site is selected, more in depth design and engineering will need to be undertaken to develop enough information for a bond vote, which could occur as early as November 2012. A reserve fund was established at Town Meeting with an allocation of $35,000 to ensure resources are available for these next steps and to keep this initiative moving forward. Additional funds were allocated for floodproofing the Library to protect the Town Office until a new location is available to be occupied. The floodproofing investment will then benefit the Library in the future when it takes over the space. Preliminary Site Plans
Request for Proposals The Town of Waitsfield advertised for proposals in July 2011 to evaluate three sites in Waitsfield Village for their suitability to accommodate a relocated or expanded Town Office. The objective is to identify which one of the three properties should be advanced to the next level for design, permitting, financing, and preparation for construction. Two bids were received and the firm of Maclay Architects was selected. • Scope of Work (6 pgs, 133 KB)  Town Office / Vault in Capital Plan Through The Years The following is a list of entries found in the Capital Budget section in each Waitsfield Town Report beginning 22 years ago in 1990 when the need for new vault space was first noted. For example, in 1990, the Town anticipated spending $50,000 in 1995. 1. 1990 Town Report: Municipal Office Vault $50,000 in 1995 2. 1991 Town Report: Office Improvement / Vault $30,000 in 1995 and $45,000 in 1997 3. 1992 Town Report: Office Improvement / Vault $30,000 in 1995 and $45,000 in 1997 4. 1993 Town Report: Office Improvement / Vault $30,000 in 1995 and $45,000 in 1997 5 .1994 Town Report: Office Improvement / Vault $30,000 in 1996 and $45,000 in 1997 6. 1995 Town Report: Town Office New Vault $50,000 in 2000 7. 1996 Town Report: Town Office New Vault $50,000 in 2001 8. 1997 Town Report: Town Office New Vault $50,000 in 2001 9. 1998 Town Report: New Municipal Complex $2,000,000 in 2004 10. 1999 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2004 11. 2000 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2004 12. 2001 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2005 13. 2002 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2006
15. 2004 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2008 16. 2005 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2009 17. 2006 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2009 18. 2007 Town Report: New Municipal Building $500,000 in 2010 19. 2008 Town Report: New Municipal Building $750,000 in 2011 20. 2009 Town Report: New Municipal Building $750,000 in 2012 21. 2010 Town Report: New Municipal Building $750,000 in 2013 22. 2011 Town Report: New Municipal Building $1.1 million in 2013 Early Drawings & Plans JOSLIN MEMORIAL LIBRARY
• Lister card,showing dimensions (1 pg, 53 KB) The Flember barns are located on a parcel of land that also includes a multi-family residential building and a leased garden area.
The objective at the Wait House complex is to explore the feasibility of a new building between the Wait House and the Fire Station. Renovation of the Wait House would not be an option that meets the Town Office space needs. • Wait House septic field location 1996 (1 pg, 52 KB) • Wait House Town Green Concept, memo from Bob Burley, October 16, 1996 (2 pgs, 177 KB) • Wait House Town Green Concept (rendered), Burley Partnership, May 1996 (1 pg, 278 KB) • Wait House Town Green Planning Project Goals & Objectives, Broadleaf & Sanford Strauss, 1996 (2 pgs, 107 KB) • Wait House Fire Station Outline of Considerations, 1996 (2 pgs, 68 KB)
Reports & Studies
Town Office Task Force
• October 28, 2010 meeting memo (1 pg, 121 KB) Minutes
Updated April 26, 2012
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