Dates Set For Special Town Meeting, Special Election For Slots Parlor Votes

Selectmen voted 5-0 Monday night to approve dates for the special Town Meeting and special election required to approve bringing a slots parlor to Tewksbury. 

The special Town Meeting will be held Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Tewksbury Memorial High School gym.  

At special Town Meeting, voters will be asked to approve the zoning changes necessary for building a slots parlor at 300 Ames Pond Drive in Tewksbury.

A special election for a referendum vote on whether to bring a slots parlor to Tewksbury will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Planning Board Zoning Bylaw Subcommittee will meet at 7 p.m. at the Tewksbury Senior Center on Tuesday to discuss the proposed zoning changes required to bring a slots parlor to 300 Ames Pond Drive in Tewksbury. 

Jeff Morris, Director of Public Affairs for Penn National Gaming, said he was looking forward to the next step in the process involving conducting public hearings with residents to get feedback on the proposed slots parlor in Tewksbury.
 
"We are hopeful that when the residents of Tewksbury understand all the facts about our proposal, there will be significant support for our project," said Morris. 

Selectmen, along with members of the Community Preservation Committee, Historical Commission and Community Development, received a presentation from Kang Architects outlining three proposed plans for the renovation of Tewksbury Town Hall.

The committees then entered into a working session to bounce feedback off one another as well as to ask questions of the architect. 

Kaffee Kang, of Kang Architects, delivered the presentation.  

Each design was created with the focus of working with the existing structure due to cost effectiveness as well as maintaining the symmetrical facade of the front of the building, the lobby and the arched windows on the Main St. side of the building, according to Kang.

"Given all that it seemed the natural place to put an addition would be the southwest corner facing the parking lot," Kang said. "It would not be seen from Main Street or the Town Common."

Kang said she did not think putting an addition on the back of the building was ideal because it would take away parking spaces.

The first plan, titled "Scheme B," emphasized maximizing space for town offices, has a three story addition on the southwest corner and would house:

• Finance Department 
• Town Clerk's Office
• Department of Public Works offices 
• Town Manager and Board of Selectmen 
• Computer Services

Scheme B, a total of 18,200 Gross Square Feet, would also include a 50-person meeting room, but would not maintain the meeting hall as it exists now.

The lobby and arched windows on both sides of the building would be preserved under Scheme B, according to Kang. 

The second plan, titled "Scheme F," would also consolidate all the town offices under one roof, preserve half of the existing meeting hall and include a new 62-person meeting room, according to Kang. 

The arched windows would only be preserved in their entirety on the Main St. facade of the building under Scheme F, due to an addition on the southwest corner of the building, according to Kang. 

The lobby would be preserved under Scheme F, which would be a total of 17,100 GSF.

The third plan, "Scheme G," preserves the entire meeting hall as it current exists, as well as the arched windows on both sides of the building and the lobby. 

However, under Scheme G, 15,400 GSF, the Finance Department would not have offices at Town Hall. 

Town Manager Richard Montuori said he felt it was important to have all town offices under one roof if possible in order to operate more efficiently.

Resident and former chair of the Historical Commission Keith Rauseo said he felt that the first two of the proposed designs did not attempt to improve the building while preserving it as it exists. 

"When I look at two of the three plans I sense the direction given to the architect does not take into consideration rehabilitation," Rauseo said. "Neither of first two options are rehabilitations of this building."

Selectmen Chairman Scott Wilson said there was no timeline set for selecting final designs for improvements to Town Hall, and that there would be similar working sessions in the future to continue the discussion. 

We'll be posting copies of the three different designs as soon as they are made available to us.