Brooks Academy A Battleground

HARWICH – Town officials are feuding over the status of an occupancy permit for Brooks Academy and the extent of work needed to open the historic building to the public.

Whether only the first floor of the historic building should be opened to the public, when that should happen, how the remaining work should be funded and why a meeting with state officials over a waiver from access regulations are among the issues in contention.

The select board is considering calling a special town meeting in November that could include using free cash to fund the renovations that remain to be made to the building. But it is unclear whether the meeting will be called and whether funds from free cash will be available for the project.  

The town had planned a meeting with the state Architectural Access Board (AAB) to discuss a waiver for use of the first floor of the building, but the session was canceled without notice to the stakeholders subcommittee, according to Select Board member Donald Howell, who chairs the group.

Howell said the group adjourned its initial meeting in July with the understanding it would pursue a waiver from the AAB. Neither Howell nor the stakeholders group were informed that the meeting was canceled.

“For the record, nobody conveyed any of this to me,” Howell said at the Sept. 4 select board meeting. “It [was] already a fait accompli.” 

The historic building, which houses the Harwich Historical Society and Brooks Academy Museum, has been shuttered for a year and a half while the construction work was conducted on the1848  structure. The cost associated with the construction has driven the need for the town to meet public access requirements for the facilities.

An elevator is needed to provide access to the basement and the second floor, but there is no funding for an elevator. There are funds available for additional work, including exterior improvements and new windows. The stakeholders group has called for the creation of a comprehensive plan that will address all of the needs of the building.

At the Sept. 4 meeting, Select Board member Jeffrey Handler said facilities maintenance manager Sean Libby and Town Administrator Joseph Powers came to the conclusion that because the town is looking for access to only the first floor, the waiver could be handled in-house by the town’s building commissioner.

Howell took issue with the cancellation of the state meeting, saying that everyone left the stakeholders session in unanimous agreement the town would request a waiver from the AAB to allow access to the first floor and would strive for completion of the work by seeking additional funds in the contemplated fall special town meeting.

If the building commissioner has the authority to grant a waiver for first floor access, why did that not happen earlier so that the building could open for the summer, Howell said. 

“Under whose authority did we make the decision to cancel that meeting?” he asked. 

On Monday night, Town Administrator Joseph Powers said that after the stakeholders meeting, Doug Manley, the architect for Spencer Preservation Group, which is overseeing the Brooks Academy renovations, said the change in plans seeking an occupancy permit for just the first floor should not go to the AAB and that a waiver could be issued through the building commissioner.    

Manley’s letter was given to Libby, who brought it to Powers, who said he signed it and canceled the state meeting. Powers said Manley and Libby are working with the building commissioner on a temporary occupancy permit.   

Howell wanted to know when Powers anticipated the permit would be issued. Powers said the building commissioner is still waiting on the information from Manley and Libby. The occupancy permit would be issued in this calendar year, he added.

The temporary occupancy permit should be issued for next summer, when the museum can open to the public, and all the renovations on the building begin next fall, Howell said. He also questioned the fall timeline, whether funds would be available for necessary work to complete the restoration work or whether there would even be a special town meeting in November. More likely, the funds would have to be sought in the annual town meeting in May, he said. 

Powers said a change to next summer would alter the pertinent facts now being worked on by Manley and Libby for the temporary permit.

“Your song sheet doesn’t get us where we want to go,” said Howell.

 “It’s not my song sheet, and we’re missing the singers,” responded Powers.

“I’m becoming a little grumpy,” said Linda Cebula, representing the Harwich Historical Society, pointing out as tenants in the building the group has not been a part of the discussions.

Cebula said the society, together with the Brooks Academy Museum commission, put together a page and half of repairs that are necessary to get the academy doors open again, as was requested in the stakeholders session. Libby was also directed to draft such a list, and they were to be melded together and costs assessed so funding can be sought in town meeting.

There has been no transparency or communication in the process, Cebula said. 

As for funding, Cebula suggested the town consider a debt exclusion for the work, spreading out the cost over 30 years, instead of using free cash.

It’s clear more answers are necessary, said Select Board member Jeffrey Handler. Those include whether the building can be ready for temporary occupancy by the summer, whether the town can do all the necessary renovations at once, and whether a debt exclusion is the best means of funding work.