THE TOPSHAM COMMUNITY HALL RESTORATION PROJECT
In March of 2024, the deed to the West Topsham Community Hall was transferred to the town of Topsham. Since then, efforts have been underway to seek the funding needed to rehabilitate the building. The intention is to return this facility to public use, through environmental remediation, upgrades to essential infrastructure, improvements to heating and energy-system efficiency, and improvements to ADA compliance.
The goal is to do so in a way that does not cost residents a single dollar raised by taxes.
The Select Board recognizes the community’s eagerness to start using the Community Hall again, and we ask for your patience as we move through the regulatory steps required if we are to accomplish our goal of restoring this building at no cost to taxpayers.
As things progress, all updates and notices will be posted here.
Questions? Want to volunteer to help? Want to make a donation to this project?
contact Megan Clark (chair of the Topsham Community Hall Restoration Committee) at email: meganeclark@gmail.com
SUPPORT SUMMER ACTIVITIES AT THE COMMUNITY HALL!
OUTLOOK: FUNDING
So far, expenditures on the Community Hall have been minor, and have come out of the $90,000 of ARPA funds designated by the Select Board for use for the Hall. Megan Clark is working closely with the Preservation Trust of Vermont and TRORC to identify potential sources of funding and apply for those grants, to identify necessary regulatory reviews and initiate those processes, and to gather preliminary assessments that will inform the scope of the rehabilitation project itself (energy efficiency, general conditions, etc).
The Town has already been awarded several grants for the preliminary planning steps necessary for the Community Hall project, and in December of 2024, the Town was awarded a MERP grant that will cover the cost of a broad scope of energy-efficiency related improvements at the Community Hall. There are a number of other grants that the town can choose to apply for in the year ahead–our outlook is positive, as this project aligns with State and regional funding priorities and Megan is seeing impressive enthusiasm for this project among State agencies and other grant-making institutions.
So what are the grants we will be applying for in the years ahead?
PHASE ONE: main floor
-Vermont Arts Council Animating Infrastructure Design and Implementation grants [$5000 update: we got it! and $15,000]
-VDHP Historic Preservation Grant [$20,000]
-T-Mobile Hometown Grant [$50,000]
-Vermont Arts Council Cultural Facilities Grant [$30,000]
-VT Community Foundation Regional and Local Impact Grant [$25,000, applied for through Friends of Topsham] update: we got it!
PHASE TWO: basement
-Community Development Block Grant, Accessibility Modification [$150,000]
-Northern Borders Regional Commission Catalyst Infrastructure Grant [over $1,000,000]
WE NEED YOUR HELP:
A crucial component of a successful grant application is evidence of local enthusiasm for this project!
Sometimes, that means locally raised funds, sometimes that means volunteers eager to help, sometimes that means people excited to participate in activities at the Hall or to host activities in support of the Hall project. If you are excited, or even just curious about this project, and what the West Topsham Community Hall could become,
REACH OUT! COME ON DOWN! ASK QUESTIONS! SHARE YOUR IDEAS!
TIMELINE OF PROGRESS
October 2023: ESA Phase 1 report completed (this releases the town from federal liability for any environmental contamination)
March 2024: transfer of the deed to the Town of Topsham
Spring/Summer 2024:
-partnership with the Preservation Trust of Vermont
-fire marshal visit (assessment of life safety upgrades needed, and requirements for temporary use permits)
-open house information session
-clean-up bee
-meetings with TRORC, PTV, ACCD, USDA, VCRD, VHCB, DHP, DEC, and more… (these are a mix of planning agencies that are supporting the Town through this entire process, and grantmaking agencies that offered guidance around the regulatory steps that are involved with different grant programs)
-Town of Topsham applied for the Municipal Energy Resilience Program Implementation Grant (huge thanks to Nick Milburn, Topsham’s Energy Coordinator, and Harry Falconer at TRORC)
-Town of Topsham applied for and approved for Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) grant [$7500] to cover partial cost of Architect/Engineer project design
-Town of Topsham applied for and has approval for VHCB Feasibility Fund grant [$7,000] to cover partial cost of Architect/Engineer project design
Autumn 2024/ Winter 2025:
-Town of Topsham was awarded MERP Implementation Grant [$426,000]
-General Conditions Assessment conducted by Studio Nexus, half of cost covered by Robert Sincerbeaux Fund grant via the Preservation Trust of Vermont CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT
-required Architectural Historian consultation conducted by Polly Allen, cost covered in full by Preservation Trust of Vermont (MTAP funds) CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT
-Brownfields Phase 2 and BRELLA enrollment: underway, all costs to be handled by TRORC
-we requested a number of amendments to the scope of work covered by the MERP grant, and they approved all of them! CLICK HERE FOR THE AMENDED GRANT AGREEMENT
-the State Historian has determined that the Topsham Community Hall is eligible for listing on the NATIONAL Registry of Historic Buildings!! This is a really big deal!!! CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT
SPRING/SUMMER 2025:
- Dump Day Doughnuts + the Free Fresh Food Table were a huge success- from June right on through mid-October, we had over 150 folks stop by for a doughnut, some chit-chat, a peek around the Hall, and more. Thank you to Friends of Topsham for running this weekly community event, and to Washington Electric Coop and Bradford Hannaford’s for their donations in support of the Free Food Table. Most of all, thanks to everyone who participated- together we raised over $700 to put toward the cost of the required portajohn!
-At Town Meeting Day, voters approved the establishment of a Topsham Community Hall Reserve Fund, and allocation of remaining FKA ARPA funds (approximately $86,000) for this project.
-Brownfields environmental contamination testing is underway! This is an unpredictable process, time-wise. Alan Liptak of LE Environmental has conducted sample testing, and will then submit results to the State; once the State has signed off on results, he will submit a Corrective Action Plan… we are hoping for this phase to be completed by end of year 2025.
-RFP published for Architect and Engineer (A&E) services, awarded to Studio Nexus of White River Junction, to be funded by MERP, REDI, Preservation Trust of VT/ MTAP and VHCB Feasibility Fund grant money. We anticipate being designed, permitted, and shovel ready next June!
-submitted this project to GMEDC for inclusion on the Regional Priority Project list
-AWARDED: the Animating Infrastructure Design Grant of $5000
-fire marshal’s official report detailing the life safety and ADA code compliance issues we need to address.
-Friends of Topsham was invited to apply for the $25,000 VCF RALI grant to fund this project
-permitting is complete for a new septic and new well for the Community Hall, and that work has been put out to bid. Thank you to Angel and Damon Piletz for working with the Town to come up with the easement needed for this to proceed!
FALL/WINTER 2025-2026:
-AWARDED: a $25,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation RALI (Regional and Local Impact) grant program! This grant will cover the bulk of the cost of installing a new septic system for the Hall!
-AWARDED: three funding sources to help cover a significant portion of design costs. Rural Economic Development Initiative, $7500; VT Housing and Conservation Board Feasibility Fund grant, $7000; Municipal Technical Assistance funding through the Preservation Trust of VT, $8580.
-septic installation has been contracted to Bill Ricker.
-environmental testing found unsafe levels of lead in surface soils around the Hall, which will require further more testing and remediation; testing also revealed asbestos in the siding, which only requires that we do not disturb that material.
COMING SOON:
A PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING:
Come see the architect’s plans, hear about how grant applications are going, be a part of the design process for the sculptures funded by an Animating Infrastructure grant, and ask all of your questions!
THIS IS A GREAT CHANCE TO ASK ABOUT WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING- GET STRAIGHT ANSWERS FROM THE PEOPLE DOING THE WORK, NOT FROM THE RUMOR-MILL!
A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS:
We will be asking for approval from the State DEC to allow us to begin limited rip-out at the Hall. Tasks will likely include rip-out of the main floor (old insulation, wall surfaces, kitchen cabinets, ceiling, etc) and because we will not be applying for federal grants at this phase of the project, we can do this the old-fashioned way: with volunteers! Once we get the go-ahead, a call for volunteers will get posted around town- keep an eye peeled!