Without an immediate clear direction, the town is taking careful steps forward following the conclusion of a facilities study that First Selectman Peggy Lyons has characterized as the key to many major projects, including the Academy Community Center, the Island Avenue building, the Madison Hose Co. expansion, and the Surf Club facilities.

After an initial presentation last week, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) heard more from two of the consultants from South Windsor-based DRA Architects, which conducted the wide-ranging study focusing on next steps heading toward a follow-up master plan and potentially convening a permanent facilities committee.

Overall, the study found that Madison’s properties are in good shape, according to DRA consultant James Barrett, with “nothing...found to be of a critical nature or nothing in terms of a significant code situation that would need immediate attention.”

Over the next 20 years, the study projected the town would need to invest about $8.2 million total in its facilities, with about $5 million coming in the next five years. (The study does not consider schools facilities needs.) A lot of that is from regular, expected maintenance such as a new roof for the police department, mechanical systems in the Arts Barn and ambulance building, and sidewalks.

“It may seem like a lot when you look at $8 million, but over 20 years, it’s a fairly manageable contribution each year,” said Greg Smolley, another of the consultants.

Other buildings, including the ambulance facility and Youth & Family Services, will likely need to expand or find more space somewhere, the study said.

Lyons had previously cautioned the BOS not to expect the study to result in large-scale immediate recommendations, characterizing it as data rather than a roadmap toward any single outcome. But she said the plan is to consider a charge for a facilities committee by its next meeting, and asked Barrett and Smolley to begin drafting a proposal for a “phase 2” master plan, which they said could take four to six months.

It’s that phase 2 that will offer more specific recommendations for the town and these projects, while a committee can address more short-term issues identified in the study, including storage, public programming, and space needs.

Both the BOS and the consultants emphasized that using a pandemic lens when thinking about meeting space and programming would be important, as the need for and type of physical spaces both for the public and town officials has evolved tremendously over the last year.

“Given our last year of being in ‘Covidland-’ the reality is, programming needs may have changed or morphed into something new or different we can take advantage of,” said BOS member Scott Murphy. “I think there’s opportunities to reassess some things as well.”

The study found somewhat contradictory findings on meeting space, with consultants saying that the data shows that there is an “ample amount of space,” but department heads consistently reporting there is not enough. It recommended a “centralized booking system” to find out actual usage and availability of space.

Ron Paolillo, another one of the consultants who worked on the study, said that every town building should have at least one room that could handle a “hybrid” meeting, with some people participating remotely and some in person. That will also require some investment to make sure the equipment, infrastructure, and technology is all consistent, he said.

Other immediate findings of the study include more or more appropriate space for the Probate Court, Human Resources Department, and Madison Youth & Family Services (MYFS), potentially moving MYFS to an entirely new location and allow the Probate Court to use that space.

An entirely separate study also found recently that MYFS was in need of space, with privacy concerns as clinicians served clients confidentially.

With many of these things likely to be handled in detail by the committee, BOS members discussed programming and space for things like Beach & Recreation classes or even space to be rented out to private entities or individuals.

Selectman Bruce Wilson said he felt the “operating priority” of the BOS should be to find that programming space, which residents have made clear is something they want.

“Everything we do with our space pivots on the demand, what we invest in, what we don’t invest in, where we expand,” he said. “Those all hinge on community demand for the space.”

“As well as tolerance to pay for it,” Lyons quipped in response.

“We really need to get our hands on what are the priorities of the community and what they expect from us,” she added.

As far as the bigger projects, the Academy Community Center is officially “on hold” according to Lyons, but the town is still grappling with some more immediate large-scale projects and how they will fit into the master plan, namely the former Island Avenue School and the school’s $129 million renewal plan.

Barrett said it was not unusual for towns to go through a facility master plan while also juggling “outcomes that may be different within a year of today.”

“There’s a considerable amount of work to address, but it’s not what we see in a lot of towns where there’s been neglect,” said Smolley.