Brooks Academy Commission Rejects Architect's Ramp Proposal, Seeks Design Alternatives

HARWICH — July 15, 2026 — Harwich's Brooks Academy Museum Commission pushed back against an architect's revised wheelchair ramp design at its July 15 meeting, saying the proposal is visually bulky and forces people with mobility challenges to travel an unnecessarily long path. The commission's chair said a town official had signed off on the redesign without bringing it to the board first, telling the architect, "That's not sufficient — it needs to go to my board, and we need to sign off on it. This is forever." Members identified two alternatives for further study: shifting the ramp outward by roughly a foot into the parking lot, or sealing the existing exterior basement stairwell and relocating it to a different point on the foundation. The commission also flagged concern that the cupola restoration — dependent on the building being open for construction — may have been quietly cut from the project budget due to cost pressure, and said it intends to advocate for keeping the work funded before bids go out, expected as early as September.