NORTH SMITHFIELD – Nearly a year after the Town Council voted to change the target property for the town’s new multigenerational center, the advisory committee guiding the project has voted to recommend returning to the original site.
After reviewing a presentation by Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype, Inc. architect Joel Bargmann on Wednesday, August 14, the Multigenerational Advisory Committee voted 6-1 to utilize available grant funding to build a new center at Scouter’s Hall, which, if approved by the council, could mean abandoning plans for construction on the property that once held Halliwell Elementary School. Committee member Muriel Halloran cast the dissenting vote.
“It has water. It has electricity,” said member Linda Thibault of the reason for her vote. “But the driving force is: we can get it done.”
The town secured a $4 million federal grant to put toward creation of a center to serve the needs of seniors as well as other local organizations back in 2022. Original plans called for expansion of Scouter’s Hall, a structure built in the 1970s on a .76 acre lot by Pacheco Park originally donated to the “Slatersville Scouting Association,” by the Kendall family.
The single-story building is used by multiple scouting troops, and has also been used as a polling place, to accommodate municipal court, and for daytime programs geared toward town seniors.
To utilize the grant, the council created a Multigenerational Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from scouting and senior groups as well as town officials and the public at large, tasked with assessing the needs of the various town factions before ultimately making a recommendation.
But in September of 2023 members of the Town Council voted unanimously to instead focus efforts on the 32-acre former elementary school property. The decision followed presentation of conceptual plans for the property presented by a separate advisory board, the Halliwell Review Committee.
In the time since, the Halliwell board obtained a more detailed plans for a community center that showed that building even the most basic structure there would cost $6 million, exceeding funds available through the federal grant.
That, Thibault explained, is when the committee took another look at Scouter’s Hall.
“It can be done for that $4 million,” said Thibault.
She noted that on Wednesday, the firm presented four potential plans for the building noting that it will be less expensive to demolish the current structure and start from scratch.
And she noted there’s other benefits to building there as well.
“It’s a nice setting,” said Thibault, pointing to nearby hiking trails and proximity to the library. “It’s the center of town. It’s bigger than what we have.”
Plans for a new center at Scouter’s envision a larger entrance to the building and a better configuration of the space, with more room for storage. And Thibault noted that unlike the Halliwell property, Scouter’s is in walking distance of several senior living complexes, including Colonial Village, Silver Pines and Laurel Woods.
“Quite honestly, seniors are used to going there,” she said.
But the biggest reason for the change in direction?
“It can be done,” said Thibault, who has been a vocal proponent of creating a dedicated space for town seniors for years. “That’s the thing. You know I want a senior center. I’d like to see this done before my expiration date.”
Not everyone agrees with the committee’s decision.
“I have a little bit of a bias in that I think Halliwell would be the better site,” said HRC Chairman Jeffrey Porter. “I think that site is better suited for what we want to accomplish as a town.”
Porter noted that the plan for Halliwell would see a resource created for the entire community, rather than just scouts and seniors, and was devised following feedback from the public that included a survey, where residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of creation of a multi-generational center on the property. He pointed out that the council’s vote to move the project to Halliwell in 2023 was unanimous.
“They obviously saw something beneficial at that point, and I would hope they would still continue to see that,” Porter said.
The HRC, he noted, has been working on the project since 2020, and has spent funding on multiple studies and site preparation, including an $85,000 land and building assessment from Weston & Sampson, $120,000 for master plans from BH+A, and around $800,000 on demolition.
“I hope that the efforts at least don’t go unrecognized, and I hope they would see Halliwell as the stronger site for a community asset,” Porter said.
The town received a $1 million grant for grounds improvements at Halliwell last year, funding Porter pointed out must be spent at the property regardless of the council’s ultimate decision on the center.
Thibault agreed that the HRC has done a lot of work and study of the property, noting the by comparison, the study commissioned for Scouter’s by the advisory committee cost just $4,900.
“They’ve done a tremendous amount of work,” she said. “I give them a lot of credit for that.”
The Advisory Committee must now present their recommendation to the council before plans are finalized, a discussion scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 3. Porter said his hope is that councilors will schedule another joint meeting to hear from the Halliwell board before making their decision.
Thibault, meanwhile, is hoping the process will move along quickly.
“We’ve been at this for two years now,” she said. “We have $4 million. Please let us use it.”
“Now, it’s up to the council,” she added. “I think they are going to agree with us.”
Yet another example of poor project planning in NS. Who is actually in charge? I know the TC controls the spending but who was tasked with creating the actual plan for that money? Was it the HRC? The Multigenerational Advisory Committee?
Zero project plan, zero local discussion beyond some initial questions. Chairs and tables already purchased and sitting in storage in a facility that half in power states is too small for our current police force? I swear, it’s like an unfunny episode of Parks and Recreation. Money spent on surveys, studies, etc. and the final decision is made because we already have water and power here? What?
If the TC is to save any ounce of credibility, they will tell these two boards to go back, come to a consensus, and present a unified plan with a path forward.
Just spitballing here but if we expand parking at the High School, maybe we can just build a new center right on top of the well to prevent contaminants leaking into it? Hey, we could have the retirees run the concession stand as well. All assuming of course that the company that owns the field now will hire them.
Mr. Porter should be frustrated as the HRC members. All that work and money spent. As much as the multi-generational is leaving Halliwell, there has to be something that can go there for families to WANT to go to Halliwell. Mini golf, basketball court, updated benches (I heard someone wanted to put benches in NS). Upgrade the flagpole area. The garden area is nice. So, What could go there? Since it would be nothing to get wi-fi, a “safe zone” for kids to go and hang out. Anyone? I can’t see the HRC/Mr Porter work so hard to get it scrapped.
I guess your guess is as good as mine. Wait another year and you’ll find out
By all accounts, Ms. Thibault should be given the check directly as she believes it was written for her and the seniors in the town of North Smithfield. It seems we have thousands of dollars worth of tables and chairs sitting in our police station. It seems no one is quite sure who directed the purchase. From day one, her position has been that these monies are for seniors, oh, we’ll throw a few scouts in too!
As a senior, I had participated in many discussions set before the Halliwell Review Committee with leaders from not only the YMCA, but also the Cumberland Boys and Girls Club…this project is only sustainable with the guidance, affiliations and monetary clout that professional organizations bring to the table, and the ability of corporate sponsors to ensure success. The HRC has done an incredible job in guiding, assimilating and having the credible voices of younger professionals that could bring North Smithfield into the next century.
This is just another spaghetti at the wall, hoping it sticks move and I am not in favor of squandering a $4,000,000 federal grant that was awarded to the town for a “multi-generational center.”
I do hope that the Town Council will best judge the vision of the future, rather than a dated vision of the past. And to that end, continue the efforts of the young, dedicated, family oriented professionals that will guide the efforts of a true, dedicated multi-generational center to benefit all generations.
While I generally and not on the same
side of issues as Mary, she is 10000pct right here!! Spending by $4M at that location and that property is, in principle, a complete waste of taxpayer money. And YES, grants come from the taxes we pay as Americans. Just because “We can get it done”, it’s not the right thing to do. It’s the equivalent of a $4M large shed renovation on a postage size lot. Like you said Mary, the HRC and your efforts, brought a much more comprehensive and cohesive plan to the table. Ms. Thibault wants to ram this down the towns throat as her legacy. Ask her this simple question, would she put up her own $4M and spend it there? Hopefully a rational council will agree this would be waste of anyone time and money.
I have to disagree. The town has only $4M and has to live within the budget and we cannot tax people more a facility that the town afford. Second how will the town afford the annual operation of this facility that will be approximately $1M in annually.
So what becomes of the Halliwell Property and is the town allowing for the low income property at the former The Pines, on Pound Hill Road to go forward?