Town has taken long, winding road
Jamestown built its first town hall in 1883.
The need for more workspace already was being discussed in 1903, and in 1914, a town clerk’s office was added to the front of the building.
The need for workspace didn’t go away. Yet, the 1930s and 1940s were not good economic times for construction, and then the baby boom in the aftermath of World War II made a new school a necessity.
After the school on Lawn Avenue was completed in 1955, the town council considered moving the municipal offices to the abandoned Thomas H. Clarke School. Instead, the library was built on the spot.
The biggest push for a new municipal building came in the 1970s. In 1973, a University of Rhode Island study recommended new municipal facilities, including a new town hall. The Jamestown Taxpayers Association, usually one of the most fiscally conservative organizations in the community, seconded the idea.
Although the council delayed action for four years, in May 1977, with $118,795 available in revenue-sharing money, they invited architects to submit plans for a new building to be built next to the library, where the playground is now.
Lobbying for the building was intense. A brochure produced by the town compared figures from 1956 with figures from 1976 — before and after the opening of the Newport Pell Bridge — showing the growth of the town.
The land evidence records received and recorded more than doubled from 381 to 824. The number of registered voters increased by almost 60 percent from 1,720 to 2,701. Building permits grew ninefold, from 39 to 341.
By September 1978, it looked like the project would go forward. A design by Edward P. Denning Associates for a building that was three times the size of the building then in use was accepted by the council. The building would cost about $350,000. The council also authorized an application for a federal grant to incorporate solar heating, which presumably would reduce the cost slightly and maintenance significantly. Other cost-saving and revenue-producing schemes were put forward.
Municipal property, including the existing town hall and the water department building on Southwest Avenue, would be put up for sale. The police department, which was then housed in what is now the recreation center, evaluated the town hall for use as a station. The Conanicut Island Art Association also was interested. Five area doctors – Mauricio Goldberg, Lloyd C. England, John Bush, Chang K. Lee and Edward Zamel — offered $50,000 for the building with the intention of establishing a medical-dental clinic.
There still were a couple of hurdles. The voters had to approve the plans for the new building and agree to a bond issue of $175,000 to cover the remaining cost. A special election to decide the issues was called for Dec. 10, 1977. Only about 20 percent of the eligible voters turned out. When the polls closed at 6 p.m., the plans had been approved, 324-243. The bond referendum was caught in a 237-237 tie.
The Standard Times followed up the election with a story, “Just one vote made a difference,” about a woman who had arrived at the polls at 6:15, under the mistaken impression that the polls were open until 8. She had intended to vote for the bond.
The issue endured into 1978, which seemed like an auspicious time to get approval for the project. It was the tricentennial of the founding of the town of Jamestown, and interest in the island’s past and pride in its accomplishments were high.
The council scheduled a second round of voting for Jan. 21, 1978. This time it was the weather that interfered with a clear decision. A heavy snowstorm prevented some voters from getting to the polls.
A third round was scheduled for the following Saturday. This time there was no question about what the majority wanted. The bond issue was rejected, 509-294. The town council went back to the drawing board.
Despite the defeat, the need for space in which to conduct government business continued to expand. Some of the offices were relocated to other town buildings. The idea of a multipurpose government center for library, police and administration was revived. But it would be 2005 before both plans and money were approved and the current town hall would be built.
