With a Town Center Master Plan that is nearly three years old, the selectmen are finally moving forward with action items designed to make that plan a reality.
At last week’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen, selectmen Lucy Wallace, Tim Clark, and Bob Eubank unanimously accepted the draft of the report from the Municipal Buildings Task Force. The task force was charged last year with the job of assessing the physical condition and possible uses of the Hapgood Library, the Hildreth House, and the Town Hall. The report found all of the buildings in need of repair, with particular concern for the septic needs of all three buildings.
The report is primarily a descriptive document that does not prescribe specific solutions or recommend uses for each building. But it does define what each building needs and is the first step in the process of determining the steps necessary to implement the Master Plan’s goals of creating a vibrant and active town center.
At the same meeting, Clark reported that the Town Center Sewer Task Force has begun its work of meeting with local residents to discuss possible options for a town center sewer. One of the main items up for discussion is the issue of funding the project, and nonmunicipal stakeholders are considering multiple options, including the creation of a “private betterment district,” in which the parties benefiting from the sewer project would share the financial responsibility of its construction and maintenance.
Clark noted that the task force is doing its work with the goal of being able to present a warrant article to residents at the Annual Town Meeting in the spring. Just what that article will include still depends on more feedback from residents, task force members, and local stakeholders—the three churches in town center, the owners of the General Store, and the Housing Authority, which is considering the Hildreth House as a potential site for a senior housing project.
Wallace confirmed that a copy of the Municipal Buildings Task Force report will be made available to residents on the town’s website.