Masonic Hall buy seems right for Hopewell

Council could vote to send letter of intent on June 5

By Aleen Crispino
   A general consensus for purchasing the old Masonic Hall on East Broad Street and building a new library on Railroad Place was reached by Hopewell Borough officials and residents at a Tuesday forum.
   Borough officials hosted the special meeting at the Hopewell Elementary School to discuss municipal facilities.
   Options discussed at the session, where no action was taken, included whether to upgrade Borough Hall and the Hopewell Public Library or relocate municipal and library services, which would leave more room in Borough Hall for the Hopewell Fire Department and its Emergency Medical Unit.
   Mayor David Nettles summarized the borough’s efforts over the past 10 years to address the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and space issues" related to Borough Hall, a two-story building at 4 Columbia Ave. shared by municipal offices and the Fire Department, and Hopewell Public Library, located at 13 E. Broad St.
   The act is a federal law that requires public buildings to be accessible to people with disabilities.
   Planner Diane Strauss of Strauss and Associates, a professional planning firm in Trenton, presented the audience of about 50 people five options for upgrading or relocating municipal facilities.
   They ranged from maintaining the status quo with a few renovations to the interior and bathrooms of the two buildings to building a $3.25 million municipal complex for borough offices and library on Railroad Place, adjacent to the Hopewell Railroad Station, a proposal first introduced by council in June 2004 and never approved.
   Ms. Strauss recommended the borough exercise a six-month option entered into in February 2006 with Hopewell Lodge, LLC, owner of the former Masonic Hall at 88 E. Broad St., to purchase the vacant two-story building at a cost of $1.2 million for approximately 6,000 square feet of space for borough offices and Municipal Court.
   The planner also recommended that the borough build a new library on the property it owns on Railroad Place at a cost of $875,000, to be offset by selling the existing library building at an estimated price of $500,000.
   The purchase of the Masonic Hall and any needed renovations, would be funded through a $1.4 million municipal bond to be paid over 20 years, said Mayor Nettles. The bond would result in an annual property tax increase of $140 in the first year for the owner of the average borough home, valued at $452,887, said council President David Knights, and would gradually decrease to $129 in the last year. The borough already has allocated money for the down payment, he added.
   Councilman Mark Samse concurred with Ms. Strauss’ recommendations, saying that the scale and appearance of the Masonic Hall, built in 1957, "fits into the vernacular of Hopewell Borough." He recalled the last public meeting held in June 2004, saying that council had "heard very clearly" then from residents that the proposed municipal complex was too expensive and that "the scale on the Railroad Place property was too overwhelming."
   The June 2004 proposal would have combined borough offices and a municipal courtroom with the library in a 10,000-square-foot building costing between $2.2 million and $2.6 million.
   The scaled-down project to build just a library at Railroad Place would occupy "3,500 to 4,000 square feet," said architect Chris Elden of HACBM Architects, Engineers and Planners of Plainsboro, who presented the municipal complex design in 2004 and attended Tuesday’s meeting.
   Mr. Samse pointed out the possible availability of grant funding to defray some of the cost of the new library.
   He called providing public access to persons with disabilities "a moral issue . . . We’ve got to look at ways we can reduce the impact on every taxpayer in the borough," said the councilman. "But we’ve got to do it," he said. Noting the size of the audience, he added, "I’m excited at the fact that we’re getting input from our voters."
   Many residents spoke in favor of moving borough operations to the Masonic Hall, but several cited concerns about locating the library on Railroad Place.
   Todd Poole, of 21 Lafayette St., was one of the organizers of a public forum in September 2004 to explore alternatives to the municipal complex proposal presented in June. Mr. Poole attended Tuesday’s meeting and expressed his support for the Masonic Hall proposal.
   Describing himself as "someone who has been your lead critic," Mr. Poole said of the plan to move municipal offices to the former Masonic Hall, "I am in favor of seeing that played out."
   Mr. Poole expressed concern about the effect of noise from trains on the proposed library at Railroad Place, but added "I commend you for taking a second look at this."
   Beth Miko, of 27 Model Ave., also said she is in favor of the Masonic Hall proposal.
   "I’ve been involved for years," she said, "and I think this is a great option for the borough."
   Sean Jackson, of 7 South Lanning Ave., called purchasing the Masonic Hall a "sensible solution," but asked if allowing the library to remain in its current location had been considered along with the Masonic Hall proposal.
   "The study right now would point to a separate library on Railroad Place, but that hasn’t been decided," said Mr. Samse, adding that he and Mayor Nettles had been meeting with the library board of trustees to assure them that "we are committed to solving the library’s issues" as well as those of the borough offices.
   Ms. Strauss’ presentation detailed the existing conditions in Borough Hall and the library, describing "deficiencies that must be addressed" relating to both facilities and focusing on how each of the five options would or would not provide a solution.
   Five existing conditions detracting from the municipal offices at Borough Hall, said Ms. Strauss, are ADA inaccessibility; insufficient space for offices, meeting rooms and storage; diesel fumes from firetrucks; insufficient parking, and the overall "worn and soiled" condition of the building.
   Three existing conditions in the library in need of remediation, according to the report, are ADA inaccessibility, insufficient space for books and programs and the lack of parking.
   Problems facing the fire department, as listed in the planner’s report, are the general lack of room for expansion, as well as specific needs for dormitory space, equipment storage space, and room for decontamination facilities.
   "We cannot cohabitate any more. We are on top of each other," said Deputy Fire Chief Bill Springer of sharing space with borough offices. He expressed support for moving municipal government operations to the Masonic Hall, which would enable the fire department to expand its operations in Borough Hall.
   "In the Fire Department, we are in full support of the purchase of the Masonic Hall," said Mr. Springer. "We think if we don’t purchase it we’ll be kicking ourselves," added the deputy fire chief, who is also a borough resident.
   The options presented were:
   — The first option introduced by Ms. Strauss at the meeting is for municipal offices and the library to remain in the existing facilities, but to update the interiors and fix the bathrooms in both buildings and improve the exhaust system in Borough Hall. This is the least expensive option, at an estimated total cost of $461,000, but leaves the borough open to "potential legal risk" from noncompliance with the ADA, said Ms. Strauss. It also is an inadequate solution to the problem of insufficient space, her report concludes.
   — The second option studied by Ms. Strauss is the same as the first with the addition of creating barrier-free access to the bathrooms in both Borough Hall and Hopewell Public Library and building additions to both buildings to install elevators. This option is estimated to cost a total of $1.7 million. It would bring the borough into compliance with the ADA, but would not solve the needs of the library and Fire Department for additional space, says the report, and would only provide "adequate but inefficient" space for municipal offices, despite the greater cost.
   — The third option would place a new municipal office building and a new library on borough-owned property on Railroad Place. This is the most expensive option, with an estimated net cost to the borough of $2.75 million, assuming the borough receives $500,000 from the sale of the old library.
   — The fourth option is to purchase the former Masonic Hall for borough offices at a selling price of $1.2 million, with an estimated additional $500,000 needed for an elevator/stairs addition and other improvements. This option also includes the construction of a new library at Railroad Place at an estimated cost of $875,000 and assumes the sale of the old library for $500,000, bringing the total cost of this option to $2.075 million.
   — The fifth option is to construct an elevator addition to Borough Hall and renovate existing borough offices while building a new library at Railroad Place. The estimated net cost of this option is $1.575 million.
   The costs of various options given in Ms. Strauss’ presentation are approximate figures.
   "These numbers are estimates based on a number of studies that were prepared by HACBM," said Ms. Strauss, referring to three studies produced for the borough between 2002 and 2005.
   The borough’s option agreement with the owner of the Masonic Hall gives a range of selling prices from $1.1 million to $1.3 million, said Mr. Knights.
   Mr. Knights said the next step will be for council to vote at its June 5 meeting whether to send a letter of intent to the owner of the former Masonic Hall, Hopewell Lodge, LLC. If council votes in favor of this option, it will follow up by entering into a contractual agreement with the owner to purchase the property, said Mr. Knights.