Geralyn Hoerauf, consultant to Newtown’s Municipal Building Strategic Plan Committee, reviewed the panel’s plans for the coming weeks and months during her monthly reporting to the Board of Selectmen December 15.

The committee, consisting of residents Bill Brimmer, Walt Motyka, Jay Maher, Paul Lundquist, Jim Filan, Scott Cicciari, Mike Marinaccio, Michelle Ku, Kathy Hamilton, and Rebekah Harriman, has met once since Ms Hoerauf’s last report to selectmen in mid-November.

She said the group is still in the process of defining its scope and mission, but are orienting themselves to a two-phase plan of attack to accomplish their charge of reporting back to selectmen on possible future uses of municipal-owned facilities, eventually including local schools.

Ms Hoerauf said the committee understands it has an initial priority to examine and render recommendations on Town Hall South, which currently houses the Parks & Recreation administration, Newtown Police, Emergency Communications, and Social Services Departments; the current Hook & Ladder headquarters behind Edmond Town Hall; and the town’s multipurpose facility in Sandy Hook that houses the Senior Center and Children’s Adventure Center preschool.

But she said a second phase of attention would expand the committee’s review and recommendations to all other town buildings, with a focus on how they fit into Newtown’s longer-range strategic planning.

In the first phase, Ms Hoerauf said the committee will likely request funds to conduct a space-needs assessment of the initial three facilities to determine which departments might best fit into those locations — or whether to abandon them as currently used, or permanently.

That assessment would include a projected scope of work and cost to taxpayers to improve the facilities so they still provide a benefit to the town. She hopes the committee will complete a report on the Phase 1 buildings by late next summer.

First Selectman Pat Llodra suggested that, if the panel eventually considers removing Town Hall South from municipal inventory, a commercial real estate professional should be among those consulted for ideas about the property’s value.

The first selectman said if the town completes a planned recreation center at Fairfield Hills, Parks and Rec administration will move there. At that point, Social Services can relocate to the multipurpose facility, leaving the entire Town Hall South for possible public safety and police use.

While not discussed Monday, Mrs Llodra is still suggesting that Newtown could become an eventual Public Safety Communications hub for other area municipal emergency dispatching — regardless of the future occupancy of the police department at that location.

Selectman Will Rodgers said ultimately, it is more important that the Municipal Building Strategic Plan Committee appears devoid of predetermined outcomes as it wades into its preliminary tasks. Ms Hoerauf replied that members have already discussed that concern, and have resigned to getting all necessary background information, examining it as broadly as possible, before even discussing proposed recommendations.

Mrs Llodra then noted that with members of the Board of Education now sitting on the committee, she expects the district’s soon-to-be-released space needs plan will become part of their data package. Ms Hoerauf agreed, adding that the committee already decided not to review district data until their first phase task is completed.

Selectman James Gaston then reminded Ms Hoerauf that he was not looking as much for “dollars and cents analyses” as much as he sought a community-centric vision for future use of public facilities.

“Their report comes back to us, and we supply the vision,” Mrs Llodra said of the Board of Selectmen.

Ms Hoerauf said the committee realizes that they will ultimately be generating a plan, and as such, they are motivated to looking at future and long-range alternatives for all the facilities they eventually examine. She suggested the Phase 1space needs review could cost $60,000, and that the committee is also planning to request added funds for Ms Hoerauf to continue providing some consultation to the panel.

Mrs Llodra said she would review any request to “see how the numbers are justified, and to determine what we get for those numbers.”

“We started this and we will support it,” Mrs Llodra said.

Ms Hoerauf then suggested the committee request proposals and build a potential budget from those projections. Mrs Llodra agreed, saying it will be a “good exercise for the committee and will provide town leaders with good economic data as the panels work progresses to its second phase in late 2015.

Mr Rodgers asked Ms Hoerauf to be watchful since the multiphase approach could tend to produce redundant consultation costs, suggesting the first phase space needs plan include a “mini overview” of most or all future facilities that may come under the groups attention.

“It’s important we understand the overall scope of what the committee hopes to accomplish,” Mr Rodgers said.