Guilford hopes third time's the charm
GUILFORD – Knowing trouble comes in threes, officials in the Town of Guilford are banking on the third time being the charm for their twice-defeated building project.
Shot down by voters in April and then again in November, building committee members say further revisions and options for the failed plans – the first estimated at a cost of $2.5 million, with a follow-up scaled back to $1.89 million – calling for a new town hall and highway garage are in the works. They also said that no new date will be scheduled to put the item back on the ballot – at least not until the public’s aversion to the project is fully examined, and possibly remedied.
“The mission is to try to meet with people on the smaller scale, and answer their specific questions,” said committee member and town councilman George Seneck. “There’ still a lot of people who don’t know what’s going on.”
According to officials, voters were concerned with the proposed size of the town hall portion of the project, and also with the town’s pre-emptive purchase of a roughly 115-acre site on Marble Road in Guilford Center, which was set to be the new home for the existing town facilities, which are also located on Marble Road.
“It irritated a lot of voters because it was done on short notice,” said Mt. Upton resident and committee member Arthur Christensen, referring to the land purchase. “It’s a pretty valuable piece of property, and I think the town can get a greater return for it than it cost for the purchase of the property.”
Seneck said that if the site is used, the town would most likely look into selling off the excess property.
In regards to the size of the town hall, Seneck said upcoming talks will bring up the possibility of renovating and expanding the existing town offices into the existing highway garage area, and also the possibility of leasing office space, depending on its legality.
The town hall and highway garage currently share a 6,495 square foot building that has a host of structural and logistical problems, including a rotted roof, a dirt-floor garage plagued by water damage, a lack of adequate restroom facilities, and a lack of office space.
“The roof is in bad shape,” said Highway Superintendent Robert Fleming. “I’d hate to come in some day and see it collapse.”
Christensen said that new facilities are necessary, and that voters understand that. “They recognize we need this,” Christensen said. “They just question the size.”
The first proposal called for a 15,300 square foot highway garage, a 6,000 square foot town hall, and a 4,500 square foot salt barn, at an estimated cost of $2.5 million dollars. After being defeated 247-105 in April, the committee reconvened and reduced the size of the town hall to 4,200 square feet, bringing down the overall project cost to $1.89 million. That item was defeated in the general election Nov. 7.
“We’d like as much community input as possible,” Christensen added. “The community needs a new town hall and a new town barn. It will be an asset to the town in the future.”
Shot down by voters in April and then again in November, building committee members say further revisions and options for the failed plans – the first estimated at a cost of $2.5 million, with a follow-up scaled back to $1.89 million – calling for a new town hall and highway garage are in the works. They also said that no new date will be scheduled to put the item back on the ballot – at least not until the public’s aversion to the project is fully examined, and possibly remedied.
“The mission is to try to meet with people on the smaller scale, and answer their specific questions,” said committee member and town councilman George Seneck. “There’ still a lot of people who don’t know what’s going on.”
According to officials, voters were concerned with the proposed size of the town hall portion of the project, and also with the town’s pre-emptive purchase of a roughly 115-acre site on Marble Road in Guilford Center, which was set to be the new home for the existing town facilities, which are also located on Marble Road.
“It irritated a lot of voters because it was done on short notice,” said Mt. Upton resident and committee member Arthur Christensen, referring to the land purchase. “It’s a pretty valuable piece of property, and I think the town can get a greater return for it than it cost for the purchase of the property.”
Seneck said that if the site is used, the town would most likely look into selling off the excess property.
In regards to the size of the town hall, Seneck said upcoming talks will bring up the possibility of renovating and expanding the existing town offices into the existing highway garage area, and also the possibility of leasing office space, depending on its legality.
The town hall and highway garage currently share a 6,495 square foot building that has a host of structural and logistical problems, including a rotted roof, a dirt-floor garage plagued by water damage, a lack of adequate restroom facilities, and a lack of office space.
“The roof is in bad shape,” said Highway Superintendent Robert Fleming. “I’d hate to come in some day and see it collapse.”
Christensen said that new facilities are necessary, and that voters understand that. “They recognize we need this,” Christensen said. “They just question the size.”
The first proposal called for a 15,300 square foot highway garage, a 6,000 square foot town hall, and a 4,500 square foot salt barn, at an estimated cost of $2.5 million dollars. After being defeated 247-105 in April, the committee reconvened and reduced the size of the town hall to 4,200 square feet, bringing down the overall project cost to $1.89 million. That item was defeated in the general election Nov. 7.
“We’d like as much community input as possible,” Christensen added. “The community needs a new town hall and a new town barn. It will be an asset to the town in the future.”
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