After a year of reviewing construction plans and surveying various estimates, Hopkinton’s annual town meeting features a decision to borrow $272,000 to stabilize the iconic Houston Barn.
The structural issues on the historic barn started gaining attention after a leak was found in its roof a year and a half ago.
Originally, the Select Board was discussing whether to only replace the barn’s roof, an estimated $80,000 project, but they questioned whether that was financially or structurally beneficial. With their uncertainty, the Houston Barn Study Committee was formed in Jan. of 2021 to formulate a plan on how to proceed with the barn.
The committee featured Chairwoman Louise Carr, a Contoocook resident who has experience on multiple town projects, as well as past work with local architects, contractors and financial advisors.
The town of Hopkinton was awarded a Historic Barn Assessment Grant by the N.H. Preservation Alliance in June of 2021, which allowed a barn consultant from Ladd Timber Framing to do an evaluation. The inspection found the barn was in “remarkably good condition” but it needed the roof repair along with foundational and structural post repairs, some of which were caused by the leaky roof.
After considering possible funding sources voters will be asked to pay for the $875,000 through a $272,000 bond and $603,000 coming from American Rescue Plan funds. Carr says if it is not used on the barn in this budget cycle, it will be used on a different entity, and any barn maintenance will have to be paid for with other funds.
“We put together the committee and we studied all kinds of options,” committee member and architect at SMP Architecture Jason LaCombe said. “The stabilization effort that we’re putting forward for the town meeting really came about looking at it holistically and saying, ‘it’s not just a roof if we’re going to invest in the building, what’s the best means to do that to really preserve not only the structure, but the use.’ ”
The plan they are presenting at Saturday’s meeting is the first leg of a two-step approach. According to LaCombe, preliminary actions will be taken to secure the structure’s integrity, then they will jack the barn up to construct a new foundation where they can fix any existing drainage issues. When the barn’s frame is placed back down on the new foundation, it will then be leveled and miscellaneous projects will be finished. The second leg will include installing a new metal roof, electrical wiring, a fire suppression system as well as replacing the siding and doors on the barn. Anything beyond the $875,000 will be funded by grants and private donations, according to Carr.
The barn currently serves as a storage facility for the town’s Recreation Department, the local youth sports association (HYSA), the Slusser Center, the Hopkinton Library, the Boys & Girls Scouts, and the High School athletic department. It also functions as a critical operations service for the DPW Building and Grounds Department, as well as a space to conduct dark and confined space fire training for the Fire Department.
The cost of replacing the barn would exceed $1,700,000. These options included knocking the barn down and creating a new structure, as well as replacing the structure on a different site. The latter’s estimation came out to over $2.2 million.
Carr emphasized that if no action is taken with the barn, it will deeply affect the pockets of Hopkinton residents.
“It’s not a matter of if we’ll have a partial collapse, it’s when we will have the partial collapse,” she said. “So it needs to be addressed. This is the time to do it, especially since we have the ARPA funds that’s going to pay for majority of it … If we do nothing, and we have a collapse, then we’re going to have to request a special town meeting. We’re going to have to pay to remove the barn and then we’re going to have to pay for a new structure.”
The stabilization project would not have a tax impact in 2022, but would have a $0.05 impact in 2023, which would be $15 on a $300,000 home. It will incrementally decrease in the following years.
“We’ve had really good feedback,” Carr said. “Majority of the people that we have spoken to see the need to restore it, to keep it because they understand that it’s gonna cost more to build a new building, and they don’t want to lose the historical significance.”
Also on the table will be the town’s proposed operating budget of $8.3 million, which is $621,430 more than this year’s total, resulting in an 8.1% tax increase.
Voters at Tuesday’s election day rejected a proposal that would have allowed Keno betting games in Hopkinton.
Thomas Lipoma and Kenneth Traum were elected to the town’s Select Board, while Mark Zankel and Debbie Norris were elected as Budget Committee members. For school board, Norman Goupil defeated Dean Owens.