The Special Town Meeting is taking place in a few days where we will vote on the selectmen’s “plan” for Town Hall, but we have been provided little detail beyond a floor plan, which the BOS has confirmed will not provide enough room for town employees and volunteer government. There is no concrete plan to assess, no formal lease proposal, no cost benefit analysis, no updated architectural plans with estimated costs to consider. We are uninformed, with no way to rationally weigh the options. Where was the voter outreach? Why has the BOS chosen the “just trust me” approach? Is this “plan” a Trojan horse to facilitate the sale of town-owned property in the center of town?
I think we have no choice but voting “No.”
We can still save Town Hall, even if we vote no on this proposal; the funding would still be available for Town Hall. We need to send the BOS a clear signal, pause, prioritize our goals, perform a proper schematic design process, led by a qualified building committee with lots of community involvement, and meet as many of those goals as possible, in priority order, staying within budget.
- Staff and storage needs
- Sufficient space for volunteer government (meeting rooms and file storage)
- Additional community space
The BOS thought they could do a better job than the previous building committee and give us everything we wanted for the same money. It is impossible, as they have admitted, and they now seek a long-term lease for town offices in addition to spending the $3.97 million, further increasing our financial burden. We can accommodate the basic needs of government in the existing Town Hall, but something in the original program must be cut.
We can be sure if this project moves forward as “planned” it will be a bad deal for the town and will fundamentally alter the course the voters have already chosen; we want town government in town center, for the funding we approved.
Paul Richards
Westcott Road
