Wheelock has been grappling with the question of what to do about the Town Hall and Clerk’s Office for more than 15 years. The Town Hall does not fully meet accessibility and code requirements for public buildings.
Where Are We Now?
On 2/14/2023 a selectboard rep met with the review committee at the Division for Historic Preservation, regarding the design plans, in particular, access to the stage by a ramp, not with a lift stop, as initially proposed. They preferred the ramp solution and determined that pending a final OK from the Accessibility Modification grant program people, the Town will not need to hire a Section 106 review consultant.
On 2/7/2023 the selectboard voted to accept the Phase 2 proposal from Silver Ridge Design to develop construction documents for the competitive bidding phase. Discussion included applications this spring to the Accessibility Modification grant program at the Vermont Community Development Grant Program and the Bruhn grant program offered by the Preservation Trust of Vermont. A few days later Silver Ridge sent drawings showing an alternate means of accessing the stage, via a ramp, not a 4th stop on the platform lift.
On 1/30/2023 the selectboard met with the architect and the Fire Marshall. He got back to us approving the plan for 2 ADA washrooms on 2/7/2023.
On 11/10/2022 the selectboard voted to engage Greg Paus, Silver Ridge Design of Hyde Park. See the meeting minutes for how the selectboard came to this decision and the Phase 1 proposal outline.
Phase 1 includes taking site measurements, meeting with Accessibility Systems regarding a lift between floors and meeting with the Fire Marshall to determine the requirements for the number of ADA bathrooms, fire separations, and renovations to accommodate the vertical lift and address code violations in stairs and egress construction. Greg has provided preliminary drawings and on Jan. 13, 2023 the Fire Marshall approved the plans. At the Special Selectboard meeting with the architect's rep and the Fire Marshall we went over additional details. The architect will provide a proposal for Phase 2, to complete the working drawings necessary for bidding, for the Selectboard meeting on Feb. 7, 2023.
How Did We Get Here?
This 2021 video walkthrough explained the issues.
2020 – 2022: U.S. Department of Justice Settlement Agreement
The 2020 Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) included a timeline for the Town to come into compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The agreement addressed the issues outlined in the list of accessibility violations presented to the selectboard in 2019. The timeline had several deadlines:
By 12/31/2021 the selectboard was required to develop a Town Hall Accessibility Proposal & share with DOJ. The selectboard appointed a Project Committee in Jan. 2021 and sought and was awarded a municipal planning grant providing architectural and community engagement services. Place Sense helped bring in community input with mailings, a survey and a public meeting. MAKE Architects prepared two concept options for accessibility, with an eye to the town’s future needs. The selectboard reported to the DOJ as required by 12/31/2021, and gave the choice of which concept option to the voters at Town Meeting 2022.
Because of the pandemic, Town Meeting 2022 was held by the Australian ballot method, that provides no opportunity for discussion, unlike the in-person, moderated town meetings Wheelock normally holds. The voters turned down both concept option proposals. Option 1, cost estimate $980,090, was defeated 86 NO to 56 YES with 13 blank votes. Option 2, cost estimate $1,515,400, was defeated 88 NO to 56 YES with 11 blank votes.
However the voters overwhelmingly supported 128 - 22 an article to raise and put $16,500 into a new reserve account to create construction documents to address the ADA requirements. The voters also supported 109 to 41 an article to raise and add $30,000 to the existing reserve fund of $46,030 to be used for major repair and rehabilitation work on the Wheelock Town Hall.
The selectboard reported to the DOJ on 3/29/2022 that the voters did not approve a Town Hall Accessibility Proposal, providing a summary of the listening session the selectboard held after town meeting to try to understand the wishes of the voters. If the voters had approved the proposal, the next steps in the Settlement Agreement would have been to create construction bid documents by 8/31/2022, propose a bond vote by 12/5/2022, and if approved, begin construction by 7/31/2023.
The DOJ reported back to the town on 4/4/2022 explaining we must meet program accessibility requirements in the interim prior to completing construction that appears will be delayed beyond the deadlines spelled out in the Settlement Agreement. The selectboard wrote back to the DOJ with a letter of 5/19/2022 attaching photos showing efforts to meet program accessibility.
The selectboard wrote back to the DOJ with a letter of May 19, 2022 attaching photos showing efforts to meet program accessibility.
PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY
We rented an ADA compliant porta-potty with a maintenance service contract and installed it near the ramp on the east side of the building. It is available for use on an on-going basis whenever Town Hall is open to the public.
We created a records access station for researchers inside the main hall near the ramp door. Some land records are digitized and accessible via the town’s website. A phone call can be made to the Clerk downstairs asking to bring up records that have not yet been digitized. 
Selectboard meetings are held in person and via Zoom in the meeting hall that is accessible via a ramp on the building's east side. Information on how to log in by computer and phone are part of every meeting agenda.
The DOJ representative reported back to the town on June 9, 2022 with good news: "I have decided to close our office’s file on your town hall. This means that our office is no longer expecting the Town to comply with the specific terms of the settlement agreement, though of course compliance with the actual law is still required."
