Facilities

The Town Hall shares a 1.4 acre lot and a well with the Fire Station and library, and shares a septic tank with the Fire Station. There is an oil burner to provide heat.

Half of the 591 square feet of the first floor is used for the offices of the selectmen, selectmen's secretary and assistant secretary, tax collector, treasurer, building inspector and road agent. The officer of public welfare uses a 112 square foot office off the lobby. The Conservation Commission, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment use first floor space for storage and use the first floor meeting hall for meetings. The meeting hall measures about 584 square feet, and seats approximately 60 people, and this is usually adequate. At hearings occasionally there is not enough space for all attendants to sit. If this becomes a problem in the future, the town could consider taking out the wall that divides the meeting room and office space to expand the meeting room space. There is a small kitchen and two bathrooms on the first floor, which do not meet ADA standards.

A particularly wide and attractive wooden stairway leads to the second floor, which was originally the first floor of the building. The second floor is unheated. It contains a large room with a stage, an office, and a small storage room, with a fire capacity of 50 people. Since 1992, it has been used at no charge as the Mont Vernon Historical Society's Museum, offices, and storage of historical archives and articles.

The Town should build a wheelchair ramp leading from the back of the Town Hall to its side door, in keeping with the architectural style of the building.

There is a small parking area to the north of the Town Hall, and some parking near the fire station totaling approximately thirty parking spaces. Parking is a problem only at very large public meetings, but most of the time, parking at the Town Hall is not difficult. The parking lot was reconstructed and repaved in 1996.

Fire-safe units should be purchased for storage of town hall records and archives. The planning board is currently in urgent need of lateral file cabinets. Other office furniture such as bookcase and office chairs will be needed in the new few years.

The Town should install a panic button that generates a 911 call for the Town Hall employees.

In 1990, the McCollom Building was given to the town as a gift, and the town voted $13,000 toward its renovation. The Town Clerk's offices and the Police Department were moved across Main Street to the first floor of the McCollom Building in 1990. The Town Clerk, Deputy Town Clerk, Assistant Town Clerk, and Supervisors of the Checklist share an office. Total square footage is 504; 306 of that is work space; 65 is public space, and the balance is kitchen and storage. This should be adequate for at least the next ten years.

Vital records and Uniform Commercial Code records are stored in the Town Clerk's office. An additional fire safe filing cabinet is currently needed; a four-drawer cabinet would serve for the next ten years.

The building has its own septic tank. Water comes from a well shared with the Congregational Church. The church recently tested its water and found it potable; however, the town provides water coolers in all town buildings rather than pay to test the well water for potability. The Town should consider whether it is more cost-effective to test the water for potability or provide water coolers.

It would save space to create a shared room that would serve as kitchen, lunchroom, and copier area for the police department and clerk's office, but that will probably not be necessary in the time scope of this plan.

There are parking spaces for ten vehicles plus three spaces reserved for the police department in a paved lot in front of the building. The lot is shared by the church. Parking is not usually a problem, but on the occasional days when the Town Clerk's office is open and there is a wedding or funeral at the neighboring Congregational Church, parking is a problem. However, the McCollom lot should be adequate to serve both the police and town clerk's services for the next ten years.

The Beautification Committee provides holiday wreaths and bunting decorations to the two town office buildings, which adds to the charm of the town.

In 1992-3 the building was repaired and painted, and again in 1997 part of $25,000 was used for paint and repairs. Many of the improvements to the facility were accomplished through the efforts of the Public Works Department and the Beautification Committee working together with town volunteers. In 1991 a chain link fence was removed. In 1992 an underground fuel tank was removed and replaced by two basement tanks; the interior was painted; the original steam pipe work was replaced; the boiler was converted from steam to hot water; and a swingset, fence and flagpole were removed from the grounds. Beginning in 1992, the second floor was leased to generate income for the town. In 1993 citizens donated carpet and its installation; the bathroom was finished; and a federal grant was used to plant crabapple trees; parents of the second floor Karate school donated money toward the replacement of heating pipes; the parking lot was replaced with gravel; and an outside water faucet was installed. In 1994 the parking lot was paved. In 1996 the town installed a fire and burglary alarm system in the building. A wheelchair ramp leads to the Town Clerk's office side door.

The front porch rails are currently held together by temporary brackets; they should be replaced. Professionals are needed to determine the status of the roof and woodwork.

Combining the square footage of the Town Clerk's office and the Town Hall office and meeting space results in approximately 1926 square feet of space. Compared to a facility standard of 0.6 square feet per capita for town offices, the space should serve Mont Vernon for office space through the next ten years. However, it is recommended that public hearings be held in the larger meeting rooms in town; the Village School Library or Village School Multi-Purpose Room, both of which are handicapped accessible and allow for ample parking.

Staff

The Town Hall is currently open to the public fifteen hours a week between 9 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the Selectmen's Secretary works an additional 15-20 hours a week. To keep up with the projected population growth, the hours of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary will need to increase by 8 per week over the next ten years.

The Town Clerk's office is currently open Tuesday and Thursdays, 9 am to noon; and Mondays and Wednesdays, 5 pm to 8 pm. It is also open the last Saturday of the month from 9 am to noon. Over the next ten years it will be necessary to increase the office's hours by at least 2 per week. The current staff are proficient at using the computer to automate the ledger and logs, which saves a great deal of time.

Equipment

The Secretary would save time and materials if the town purchased a municipal software program capable of writing and posting checks simultaneously. The Tax Collector recommends networking all the municipal computers in the interest of efficiency and planning; one big database.

The Town Clerk's office uses a new Pentium III owned by the NH Dept. of Vital Records. Its adequacy should be reevaluated in 2005.

Town Hall Capital Improvement Forecast

McCollom Building Capital Improvement Forecast

Summary of Action Items