Rehoboth Town Hall Undergoing Renovations

The portico at Rehoboth Town Hall is being enclosed. Selectman Michael Deignan noted the change will “improve the quality of service that we provide to the residents of this town.”

The Town Clerk, Tax Collector, Board of Assessors and the Planning and Conservation offices are located on the building’s first floor. “When you walk into the Assessors’ office, it’s one large room,” Deignan said Monday. “There’s no separate conference room where the assessors can have a separate conversation with a resident. This will create that space (for private conversations). By enclosing the portico area, we create a little bit more office space and we have an additional office now where we can (move) the Treasurer back a little bit.”

The cost of the construction work is approximately $146,000 and will be taken from the Fiscal Year ’22 Facilities Maintenance line, according to Deignan. The Selectmen, Town accountant, and Town Administrator’s office are located on the building’s second floor. The Board of Health and Zoning offices are in the basement, along with storage.

The land and 7300 square foot building at 340 Anawan Street was purchased for $995,000 after voters approved a warrant article at the May 2021 Town Meeting. The Town Hall employees settled into the building last December. Meanwhile, the plans for the previous Town Hall on Peck Street are still up in the air. It was built in 1956 as a Nike missile site. In 1971, the property was acquired for use as the Rehoboth Town Hall at a sales price of $5900.

“We still have (materials) in there we have to take care of, documents and things of that nature,” Selectmen Chairman Skip Vadnais said. “As far as the usage of it, we will be asking for ideas from everyone.”