The Mason Town Hall Renovation Committee mission is to restore and preserve our Town Hall. We are looking to convert it into a more pleasant and functional space for present and future uses.
To access the Mason Town Hall Renovation questionnaire:
Mason Town Hall Renovation Needs Your Input!
The Mason Town Hall (the “Town Hall”) restoration effort began with a 2018 donation from the Wolf Rockers dance group as a show of gratitude for use of the Town Hall for decades. In 2018 the building was accepted and placed on the N.H. Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for grant funding from the N.H. Conservation License Plate and the N.H. Land and Community Heritage Investments programs. During 2018 and 2019 engineering studies were conducted to identify structural problems and the town received a Historic Building Assessment report that is available on the town’s Web site (http://masonnh.us/wp-content/uploads/MasonTownHall_HistoricBuildingAssessment-Jan-2019.pdf). We are now beginning the process of renovation and we need your help.
The town has established the Town Hall Renovation Committee (the “Committee”) to act as an advisory committee to the Board of Selectmen. The purpose of the Committee is to involve interested Mason residents in the process of restoration of the Town Hall. We would like to bring the Town Hall into the 21st century environmental and safety standards while at the same time preserving the buildings architectural integrity and its setting at the center of our town.
The committee is proceeding with renovation in three phases covering the drainage and foundation in the first, the roof in the second and the remainder of the building in the third. Although this building falls directly under town management, a project of this scope will need many layers of support and involvement to succeed. The selectmen and the town voters have already voted expressions of their support and now we are looking for additional guidance on how to proceed. This survey is a vital step in identifying your wishes for the Town Hall, including identifying a range of uses that will prevent this historic building from becoming obsolete. Your input will help guide us in fulfilling those wishes and will indicate the degree of residents’ interest.
This questionnaire is being made available at the town offices, the town Web site, and at various town events, including at voting sites, if the current pandemic rules allow. You may complete and submit the questionnaire online via the survey monkey link on the towns Web site home page or you may print the PDF, also available on the home page and return it by mail to Mason Renovation Committee C/O, The Town of Mason, 16 Darling Hill Rd., Mason NH 03048 or drop it off at the town offices. Please note that while the office remains closed you may place it in the mail box at the left of the door or the mail box by the main entry door on the Town Hall itself.
For more than 150 years the Town Hall has been at the heart of our town. We gather here to vote, and to take part in meetings, forums and other events. Many long-time residents fondly recall Andy’s Playhouse, graduations, fairs, weddings, receptions, dances, and town dinners. The music and dancing of the Wolf Rockers, and the sounds of laughter and debate from years gone by wafts through the air.
Mason’s Town Hall is a powerful symbol of the values of our town. With your help and guidance we would like to help restore it to its traditional place in village life. Our Town Hall should reflect the pride we all take in living here in Mason. We hope that everyone in town will want to support this project.
