<p>A drab exterior, leaky roof and rotting trim have prompted Edgartown to explore options to stabilize its town hall facade, the selectmen learned Monday.
A drab exterior, leaky roof and rotting trim have prompted Edgartown to explore options to stabilize its town hall facade, town procurement officer Juliet Mulinare told the selectmen Monday.
“The front of town hall needs some work,” Ms. Mulinare said. “There’s still some CPC money remaining from an appropriation a few years back to freshen it up . . . There’s an opportunity to make it look real nice.”
The town hall building dates back to the 19th century and is listed in the Edgartown Village Historic District and the National Register of Historic Places.
The town voted in 2011 to earmark approximately $700,000 in Community Preservation Act money toward the rehabilitation and preservation of the building. Although the town has undertaken over $500,000 in work on the building since, Ms. Muliare said problems remain and that the town still has $97,000 in the bank to finish the project.
But after speaking with an engineer about the building, Ms. Mulinare said she learned there were deeper structural issues facing the building, leaving selectmen with a tough decision. While the $97,000 would cover aesthetic repairs, it wouldn’t fix rotting wood underneath the building or an insecure roof.
“So the question is,” Ms. Mulinare asked selectmen, “would you like to do a band-aid project for the immediate future, or put money away for the overhaul that is needed, which involves removing the stairs and rebuilding the roof?”
Selectman Arthur Smadbeck favored the immediate fix, saying that the town already has $17 million in projects on its capital programs list.
“If the short-term fix could bridge the gap between the time when we have the money to do it, rather than do nothing . . . that’s my thought,” Mr. Smadbeck said.
Mr. Smadbeck added that the project belongs on the capital programs list. The other selectmen agreed, instructing Ms. Mulinaire to take steps necessary to put it on the list while exploring how far the $97,000 could go toward stabilizing the facade in the meantime.
“It needs freshening up,” selectman Margaret Serpa said. “It doesn’t look good.”
In other business, selectmen heard a presentation from Bill Bennett of Invictus Solar about leasing space at the town landfill to install a solar array.
“We’ve been snooping around looking for places to do solar, and about two or three years ago, we said, what about at the landfill?” Mr. Bennett told selectmen.
Because the Island’s electric grid is saturated, utility-grade electric projects need coupling with an energy storage facility. While that wasn’t financially viable two or three years ago, Mr. Bennett said, his company’s recent partnership with Tesla has made solar power at the landfill a possibility.
Mr. Bennett would lease the land from the town, and then use renewable energy incentives from the Massachusetts SMART Program to profit from the venture. In order to receive the largest incentives, Mr. Bennett said the town would have to act fast because the incentive blocks decrease in value over time.
“The sooner that we can decide who the leaseholder is going to be...the more money we can make for the town, and the more money we can make for us,” Mr. Bennett said. “It’s going to be a big number. It’s like 10 figures or above.”
Selectmen said they were ready to put ink to paper, but would first have to put out a request for proposals and ask town counsel if they needed to go to town meeting to approve a lease agreement.
“I think this is a great idea. I’ve thought for a long time this was a great idea,” Mr. Smadbeck said. “Let’s get this going.”

Comments
The days of low property
WashAbhorred EdgartownThe days of low property taxes in Edgartown are all but over.
Count your blessings on
skip OBCount your blessings on having something to work with instead of the hand-me-down town hall to your north
It looks fine. Another
Ben EdgartownIt looks fine. Another unneeded renovation on the backs of the taxpayer. This needs to stop.
As a longtime home owner of a
Jane Chittick EdgartownAs a longtime home owner of a historical property (1849) in the Historic District and as the first Executive Director of the Vineyard Trust, it is penny-wise and pound-foolish to "bandage" the structure of this magnificent building designed by Frederick Baylies, Jr. (fhe original Methodist Church that predated Baylies' 1843 Old Whaling Church). Anyone knows that rot and roof problems not immediately attended to is insanity. The money spent by the town before this has simply been interior "renovations" and .... not even aesthetically or historically appropriate.
I also sit on the Finance Advisory Committee and have a keen interest in being fiscally conservative -- however, this is not one of those moments. "Freshen up" they say? This is one of Edgartown's Grand Dames and deserves preservation ... not a neck lift. Let the townspeople decide -- Shame!
“Freshening up” the building
Edgartonian MV“Freshening up” the building is a waste of funds. I applaud Ms. Mulinere’s fiscally thoughtful initiative to look into the long term needs for the building. But selectpeople, aesthetics be damned. It took the town what, 15-20 years, to deal with the yellow house? Save the money for repairs to the building. Maintenance has clearly been deferred. Plant some flowers if you need to keep up appearances.
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