Town Hall Renovation a Priority
By Mary Anderson

Photograph of preliminary design map from the 1993 charrette compiled by Land-Works. (Base map prepared by Michael Mills)

In 2007 Bethel residents saw some renovations at the old town hall as well as discussion about access to technologies of the 21^st century. The inspiration for these projects began years ago and can be seen as part of a much larger plan.

In 1989, Bethel received a small planning grant to develop a downtown plan. Out of that grew a downtown committee, formed in 1993 to improve Bethel’s village center by upgrading the downtown and promoting economic opportunities. A key part of their process was gathering public comment. To that end, the committee distributed two surveys seeking input on facilities, services, employment, housing, aesthetics and more. These were followed up with a charrette, or public brainstorming session, held at the White Church in June 1993.

Over 30 people participated in the charrette and a consensus was reached on a number of issues including the idea that keeping municipal buildings and the post office downtown was important. A master plan that became known as "The Wall to the Hall" emerged. This referred to the section of Bethel from the wall at the triangle of Routes 107 and 12 to the old town hall.

The plan included bringing buildings up to code, relocating the fire station, renovating Fort Fortitude, building a new parking lot, supporting local business with an emphasis on re-use of the grain mill, burial of utility lines, creating a pedestrian riverwalk, landscaping, improving signage and crosswalks, better lighting and renovations to the old town hall. The goal, as written in the original plan, was "to improve Bethel without changing its essential character."

Progress Made

"Quite a few substantial strides have been taken toward meeting the goals outlined in the plan," according to Bethel’s town manager Dell Cloud, who says he has been on the job for "about 20 years." These include a new fire station and parking lot, fewer downtown vacancies, and improvements to crosswalks, signs and buildings. Peavine Park provides waterfront access and the BBA contributes to downtown aesthetics with projects such as flower baskets and winter lights.

In addition, a "village center" designation has been attained from the state, which promotes economic development. Currently, the old town hall is under renovation and this past year, received a new roof, as well as structural reinforcement.

This latter accomplishment excites many in town, including Heidi Nikolaidis, whose family renovated two of the downtown buildings. She sees the town hall as "a jewel. When you come over the bridge, it’s the first thing you see. It is a symbol of the town."

Nikolaidis adds that she "hates to see it go so slowly. If we had a bond for a million we could have it finished by now and be generating income. The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be."

Cloud agrees on the importance of the town hall, stating that the current greatest need "in light of continuity with the objectives set forth, is complete renovation of the town hall. Its appearance has tremendous influence on the downtown." Cloud emphasizes that "money is the biggest obstacle" to completing renovations. Some of the town hall committee members believe another hurdle will be replacing committee chair Amy Bergamo, who is resigning her post in March of this year.

Mary Floyd, who ran Bethel’s Brick Store for 16 years, was also a part of the 1993 charrette. She agrees that "the town hall is the biggest need" at the current time and believes there are "talented people out there" who can take over as town hall committee chairperson. Floyd sees "parallels with Chandler in Randolph" and states "the emphasis needs to be to work together."

Cloud acknowledges that there is "more work yet pending" on the town plan. He hopes some of these projects will move forward in the next year or two. One of these would be improvements to Fort Fortitude.

While not part of the original Wall to the Hall plan, Nikolaidis believes that the ECFibernet project can be seen as a vital part of the plan. She notes that the conduit is in place and remembers being told that perhaps the wires would be run through it when fiber optics came to the area.

Cloud, Nikolaidis and Floyd all agree that more discussion will be useful, especially regarding future use of the renovated town hall.

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