Plans to reconfigure Eatontown’s Borough Hall to address a space shortage provide only slightly more room for the multiple departments located in the aging complex, according to the borough architect.
“The directive here is limited to a redesign and renovation only, which limits us to the confines of the existing building and for us to generate a plan that works better for users of the building and the general public,” Kevin Settembrino said at the council’s July 23 workshop session.
“The plan here is … to disrupt as few things as we could.”
While the plan provides more space for each department in the building, located at 47 Broad St., most spaces fall short of the area requested by each department.
Some of the larger shortfalls include the clerk’s office, which would go from 725 square feet to 843 square feet, 763 short of the space requested. Also, the construction office would go from 1,260 square feet to 1,340 square feet, 1,315 square feet short of the space requested;
Administration offices, currently occupying 2,795 square feet, would have to 3,371 square feet, 932 square feet less than requested.
IT offices, which now occupy 210 square feet, would have 246 square feet, and general and shared spaces such as the conference room, would go from 350 to 1,084 square feet.
According to a copy of the plan provided by Settembrino, the Police Department currently occupies 7,385 square feet in the basement and a portion of the first floor of the building. The space considered necessary by the department, which is not included in the plan, is 15,474 square feet.
Settembrino said the renovation would be a multiphase project that would take about 18 months to complete.
He said the cost for reworking the interior of the building would be roughly $1.3 million and, if the Police Department space were included, the project would cost $3 million.
Councilman Anthony Talerico Jr. said that he feels the plans do not provide enough room for most departments and that leaving out the Police Department would be a mistake.
“There is a shortage of space. A lot of the departments cannot work, there is no common area for them, there are no spaces employees can go and think and maybe open up a chart or a map,” he said.
“[Most areas] are missing what they requested in terms of space. The Police Department, we talk about at almost every single meeting not having enough space. They are deficient something like 8,000 square feet. It just does not seem like we are doing much with this plan.”
Mayor Gerald Tarantolo argued that moving municipal offices to a new building at Fort Monmouth would be a logical solution, noting Borough Hall was built in 1963 and was considered “too big” at the time.
“Look at us now, we are bursting at the seams. Where are we going to be in 20 years? I think that is our responsibility and that is where we ought to be looking when we are doing this,” he said.
Council President Dennis Connelly disagreed, saying the reconfigured interior would provide enough room for the departments.
He also pointed out that with the use of technology, departments would require less room based on his experience as a former member of the police department.
“Now there are two desktop computers there that have all that information on there, so that is the difference. So when you say we are growing, there are things that are also shrinking. We need to make sure people are using their space wisely as well.”
Council members agreed to send the plan to the finance committee for a cost estimate.