Town Offices - 10 Front Street

In 1963, the Rockingham County commissioners approved construction of a new county building on Hampton Road in Exeter.  According to the commissioners, this would improve efficiency and improve the services Rockingham County provided to its citizens.

This new move left the County Records building, located at 10 Front Street, vacant. After discussion in both 1964 and 1965 at Town Meeting, the Town finally agreed to purchase the building and convert it for municipal offices. 

Prior to 1966, the town offices were located in the Town Hall at 9 Front Street.

The Town Office Building is located across from the Town Hall at 10 Front Street. The building is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m..  The Tax Collection/Water/Sewer Collection offices are open 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Click here for the Town Clerk's hours.

Offices located at 10 Front Street include the Town Manager, Town Clerk, Tax/Water/Sewer Collections, Assessing, Planning, Building/Code Enforcement, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Human Services.

In 2011, the Finance Department relocated from the Town Offices to the Town Hall.  Today, the Finance Office, which includes the Treasurer, Accounts Payable and Payroll, is located in the lower level of the Town Hall fronting Water Street, at 9 Front Street.  Office hours for Finance are also 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
 

Various capital improvements to the Town offices over the years have been:

1987: Handicap accessibility ramp

2000: Roof Replacement and Snowbelt

2005: Establishment of IT Offices

2008: Relocation of Town Manager, establishment of Human Resources Offices, relocation of Wheelwright Room, relocation of Welfare/Human Services Office.  Removal of back stairs and replacement with concrete slip proof steps, addition of small dormer.

2010: Office improvements including temperature controlled basement area for records storage, installation of third window in Town Clerk's Office.  Temporary air conditioning improvements in Town Clerk's Office.

2011: Office relocation of Assessing, Finance, and Tax/Water/Sewer Collections.  Handicap ramp improvements. Break room improvements.

2012: Installation of a new HVAC system and outside painting of the building.

2014: Updated window insulation and window work.

Town Building Advisory Committee Activities

In 2005 a study for the use of Town Offices was conducted by SMRT, but put on hold until the next year after the costs of renovating the Town Hall and Town Offices was deemed to be too high (estimated 4.5 million dollars for both Town Office and Town Hall). Plans for improving the Town Office Building were revisited in 2007 with the formation of a Town Building Advisory Committee to include citizens. This committee looked into the possible need to renovate, relocate, or build an addition to the current Town Office Building.

The attached report, produced by the committee, lays out possible future options and their 2008 costs. The report was used for a reorganization of the Town Office building with the goal of improving the efficiency and productivity between departments and to improve the quality of service the departments provide to the public.  As a guidance document, its contents can be re-used in the future whenever the Select Board decides to revisit the issue.  In the interim, improvements continue to be made on project by project basis.

Updates to the building

The Town Office building has completed the installation of the new HVAC system. This system will drastically improve the current heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in place at the office. The Town office was heated in the winter by a single loop system installed in 1978. It controlled the buildings temperature by localized pipes and a simple "on" or "off" boiler set on a timer. 

In the summer the Town Office is cooled by multiple window unit air conditioners. These window units were used extensively during the warmer days of the season. While the window units are effective at cooling the rooms they are located in, they were very inefficient. There use during peak hours caused the Town Office building to run at or over its 400 amp service capacity on some days. 

The ventilation in the Town Office required improvement since it did not meet International Mechanical Code 2000, that was adopted by New Hampshire and the Department of Labor. In the winter, all windows are shut and the only fresh air into the building is during the brief instances when the doors are open. During the summer, the window units plow unfiltered air into the building. Both situations have been improved with the new HVAC system.