Modification Eyed For Adams Visitors Center
 The building is only eight years old and is still in good condition. |
The Board of Selectmen voted to move the Council on Aging into the building after the Berkshire Visitors Bureau moved out. Town Administrator Jonathan Butler outlined a plan on Wednesday to extend a lobby wall and merge two rooms into one large space for programming. The wall would separate the Council on Aging from a volunteer-run visitors center while the upstairs would be used for office space.
"This could be a great facility for us to benefit from in a lot of ways," Butler said. "I personally would be really excited about this project."
The lobby that the main entrance opens in to will be for the visitors center, the display area to the left will be completely redone by the Thunderbolt Ski Runners, the rooms to the right would be merged into one large programming room and the upstairs would be an "incubator" area for offices for many town organizations - such as the Pro Adams group or the Events Committee, Butler said.
"We have to figure out the scope of work and the cost," he told the Selectmen, adding that the town could add money in the budget or by a town meeting warrant article.
The large room created would be for the Council on Aging and as space to hold events, Butler said. The architecture work is going to cost less than $10,000 and Butler hopes the work will cost less than $75,000.
"There is no reason we can't have the same amount of activity here," he said. "This building is the opportunity to solve a lot of the town's needs."
Selectman Scott Nichols supported Butler's plan, saying it wasn't until touring the building that he could actually envision the proposal.
The state-built center has been vacant since the beginning of the month and the town is trying to determine its future use. Town officials have expressed interested in getting rid of the Community Center on East Street. Adams Memorial Middle School will also be vacant in the fall, which some officials have said could house the Council on Aging then.
The East Street property also houses the Youth Center, for which Butler said town officials are working on finding a new location.
"We're not trying to force them out of the East Street building," he said.
The town has proposed $20,000 extra in the budget to pick up the bills left behind by the Berkshire Visitors Bureau and start a volunteer program to run the visitors center.
In other business, the board reorganized, re-electing Arthur "Skip" Harrington as chairman and Nichols as vice chairman.
Tags: visitors center,
