THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505040378
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
The new municipal complex for this Outer Banks town will be bigger, easier to enter and better suited for public offices, members of the Nags Head Board of Commissioners said Wednesday.
Construction on the two-story facility could begin late this year.
Although the buildings do not yet have a price tag, Town Manager Webb Fuller said that since more than $600,000 in revenue has been set aside for the project, the new Town Hall will not necessitate a tax increase.
``We've been saving for this for the last five years. Our fiscal 1995-96 budget includes funds for the construction of a new Town Hall,'' Fuller said during a break in the board meeting.
Designed to be built just north of the current complex, the municipal building will contain 19,348 square feet of work space - including offices for all 85 town employees plus room to expand.
The annex currently used for planning and development staff will be converted to a commissioners' meeting room. Planners will share upstairs offices with the other departments. Police department personnel will have the entire ground-level floor to themselves. The existing round rooms that form the loosely connected current town complex probably will be removed.
``This building was built in 1974. We'll just tear it down,'' Fuller said. ``That is, if it doesn't fall down first.''
``These old buildings are falling apart,'' said Nags Head Mayor Renee Cahoon. ``We got people working in garages now, police officers. People have to run out in the rain to get from one office to another. We need to centralize our work staff.''
Town officials also needed to upgrade their 21-year-old facilities to comply with new federal Americans with Disabilities Act provisions, Fuller said. Upgrading the existing structures to meet new handicapped-access provisions would have been extremely expensive anyway, he said. Now, necessary changes can be designed into the building plans.
According to architectural drawings and models unveiled before the town board Wednesday, the complex will be built between the U.S. Route 158 bypass and the N.C. 12 beach road, slightly south of the Nags Head Fire Station. Drivers will enter the facility through the existing driveway. Bushes and grass will be planted in the space the present buildings occupy.
At least 79 parking places - including six handicapped spots - will be built south of the new town hall. Three conference rooms - in addition to the expanded council chambers - will give staff and the public space to meet. A single receptionist will be stationed at a semi-circular waiting room.
Architecturally, the new building is much more traditional than the old Town Hall. The new facility will sit on pilings 13 feet above sea level, with the first floor enclosed for law enforcement offices. Wide, covered porches with built-in benches line both floors. Supports will be made of steel columns encased in concrete. The exterior will be wooden, with cedar shake shingles.
``We designed this building in a cross shape to create a lot of offices with windows,'' architect Jimmy Hite of Quible and Associates told the town board.
``We used the old Nags Head-style architecture to better blend in with the rest of the beach. There'll even be shutters on the double-hung windows.''
The first floor will contain a police laboratory, evidence storage room, training room, computer room, men's and women's locker rooms and showers, two temporary holding cells, two police interview rooms with one-way mirrors and offices.
The second story will be comprised primarily of offices, with a vault in the rear, a large conference room in the middle and separate filing, storage, supply and mail rooms. Interior walls can be easily shifted to meet changing office needs, Hite said.
``We plan to redo the ramp at the annex to make it accessible from the front,'' said the architect. ``We're going to have moveable seating for 70 people and two small meeting rooms - one with a refrigerator and sink.''
Commissioners discussed the dais for their new chambers for several minutes. All insisted that their new seats be built on ground-level, rather than at a raised height. ``We want to be eye-level with our audience,'' said Cahoon. ``We want them to be able to sit close to us.''
The new Town Hall's roof will be covered with asphalt shingles, and set at varying angles. The entire attic will be open for storage. Hite suggested that the outside be painted grey or a driftwood hue, to blend with the old-fashioned beach architecture.
``It's simple, but elegant,'' Nags Head Town Commissioner Harry J. Thompson Jr. said after seeing the colorful plans. ``I like it.''
In other action Wednesday, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners heard that although expenses are expected to increase by 5 percent for the 1995-96 fiscal year, the current tax rate of 34.8 cents per $100 value property will not increase.
Funding for the additional costs will come from ``increases in construction as well as increases projected from local revenues; specifically the occupancy tax and the local option sales tax,'' said a town budget message. Properties within the town carry a tax value of $734 million. General Fund expenditures are estimated at $5.53 million for the upcoming fiscal year. MEMO: BUILDING PLANS
Floor plans and architectural models of the new Nags Head Town Hall
will be on display at the Nags Head Fire Station throughout this month.
The public is invited to inspect the proposed complex during regular
business hours and comment on the plans to any town official. ``We want
to give the people who are paying for this an opportunity to comment on
it,'' Commissioner Robert Muller said.
The Board of Commissioners will finalize plans and prepare the
project to go out for bid during its June meeting.
For more information, call the Town of Nags Head, (919) 441-5508.
KEYWORDS: NAGS HEAD TOWN HALL by CNB