"We're trying to look at it and figure out how to move forward. We want to get it back to the community as soon as possible," Selectmen Chairman Edward Maia said.
MONSON — Selectmen approved spending $2,500 from their gifts to the town account to fund an electrical survey for Memorial Hall, and also set a date of Sept. 15 as the deadline for groups that have items inside the historic building to get them out, or they will be thrown away.
In late June, selectmen voted to ban events from Memorial Hall, built in the late 1800s, due to safety concerns. Inspections by town officials revealed a host of issues, ranging from exposed wiring to inoperative exit lights.
At the board's Tuesday meeting, selectmen heard from Larry Tuttle, of Architectural Insights, who conducted a safety study of the building and detailed the various problems inside it.
Memorial Hall, Tuttle said, "has been exploited by those groups that have most benefited from the building." Now, he said, there are liabilities because of public access.
Constructed as a memorial to veterans, Memorial Hall has hosted everything from craft fairs and races to plays and gala events in the past. Made of granite, it is on the National Historic Register.
The basement, Tuttle said, has been used for storage by countless groups and is still filled with items.
Tuttle explained that one of the main problems is the former M-Pact cable television office space in the basement. There, he found eight to 12 violations "immediately upon walking in." He said that "complex of offices" should be eradicated as there are costumes and stage props blocking access to electrical panels. There was evidence of "near fires" as some of the stacked items were melted, he said.
People could get easily lost or confused in the basement as there are limited exit signs and those that are there are not lighted, he said.
"I think the removal of the M-Pact offices are critical to moving forward," Tuttle said.
He said there are combustibles on the stage, namely ropes that are old, flammable and weak. He said those should be replaced with cable, which is "not as attractive, but safe."
Selectmen will wait to hear back from the company which will conduct the electrical survey. That company is Shepherd Engineering in Worcester, Selectman Edward S. Harrison said, adding it will do a detailed inventory of all the wiring in the building. The electrical system, which Tuttle described as "almost a separate adventure," has been modified repeatedly over the years.
Work also will be done to demolish the old M-Pact offices, and the Monson Arts Council will be asked to treat the curtains to ensure they are flame retardant. The council donated the curtains to the hall.
The goal is to restore the main auditorium for public use, Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said.
Harrison said the selectmen need to know what the cost of all the repairs will be.
"We need to get some estimates before we go ahead and start spending a lot of money on it," Harrison said on Friday.
Harrison, who toured the building with town safety officials, said the basement is "like a labyrinth" with a raised floor and hanging electrical wires. He supports restricting further use of this area to outside groups.
"It was not pretty," Harrison said.
Selectmen Chairman Edward A. Maia said they hope to get some numbers regarding repairs before the fall special Town Meeting.
"We're trying to look at it and figure out how to move forward. We want to get it back to the community as soon as possible," Maia said.
Meanwhile, the Monson Arts Council, which sponsors the holiday craft fair every year at Memorial Hall on Thanksgiving weekend, has announced that it will take place at St. Patrick's Columbia Hall at 22 Green St. instead.
Three other venues – the Universalist and Methodist churches and the House of Art – will function as usual. The 35th annual fair will run from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1.