Templeton officials consider relocation
School eyed for town officesEryn Dion
News Staff Writer
TEMPLETON — Templeton’s budget woes aren’t the only issue pressing on the Board of Selectmen this month, as they, and other departments, could soon find themselves without an office.
“We’re very quickly faced with renewing the lease at this location,” explained member Doug Morrison.
The 5000 sq. foot space located at 690 Patriots Road is leased by the Board of Selectmen for $50,000 a year, and with the town’s current financial issues the board agreed paying rent was not an ideal use of their funds.
According to Mr. Morrison, the property’s landlord was looking for more money during last year’s lease negotiations in May, but understood that the board did not have the rent increase budgeted.
“He let us lease the same amount of space for the same amount of money with the caveat that this year we probably wouldn’t get the same deal,” he said.
Originally signed for a three-year lease, the board has been making one-year extensions for the past several years while looking for a new location. These efforts, however, have proven fruitless, and they are now navigating a tricky situation as the town can no longer afford payments.
Chairman Jeffrey Bennett said the landlord is also looking to have the board expand into the remaining 3000 sq. feet of empty space available in the building – for an extra $32,000 a year, bringing their yearly total to $82,000.
Several alternatives have been offered, although none have been decided upon to date. Mr. Morrison suggested the Town Clerk’s building, which at one time housed several departments, however members of the audience brought up health concerns and Mr. Morrison himself admitted the building should probably be demolished.
“I know everybody was on top of each other, and I agree 100 percent it’s not a good choice,” he said. “But it’s between that and paying the rent.”
Council on Aging Di-rector Bethany Loveless suggested moving some offices into the basement of Scout Hall, which currently serves as the town’s Senior Center.
The town already owns the cubicles and walls inside the facility, so rent would no longer be an issue. In addition, after the town’s new Senior Center opens, in the spring, there will be more space available.
Templeton’s town government has never had a proper town hall, despite numerous efforts. Several buildings in town, such as the property at 252 Baldwinville Road have been previously proposed, with move in attempts having fallen short.
The abandoned East Templeton School is currently under consideration for future use, but would require a substantial amount of work and funding to get up to code due to its present condition.
We have no more time to fool around. We simply can not afford to pay rent when we have our own empty buildings sitting there with no one in them. Thank goodness the voters of this town did not get sucked into sinking any more money into 252. Just like we needed to add a million or two to our debt . When Will went to a meeting of other towns this fall, he said no other town was in the mess we are. Mrs. Wilder does not want anyone to place blame on the past administrations, well then who's fault is it that the town is broke ?? For over ten years pretty much the same people were in charge, and they knew where we stood financially, so why weren't these people honest with the voters instead of kicking the can down the road, with things getting worse year after year ?? Think about that before you jump on the people who are incharge now. I wonder why anyone in their right mind would push a debt like 252, or for that matter spend 400,000 on a decrepit beat up excuse of a building when they knew the town had no money to pay for it, and the debt was on the way to sink the town. Gee it could almost make me think that bankrupting the town was the real plan after all !! We will do very well in East Templeton, or where ever the committee decides we should go. I really think we should move once, and get it over with. The sooner we get on with the business of putting the town back on it's feet, the better off we will all be. This is my opinion, and while I think of it, anyone could say they could blame the voters for the mess we are in, but the voters expect the people they elected to steer the town in the right direction. This is where the voters and tax payers were failed, in my opinion. Again, this is my opinion. Bev.
ReplyDeleteAs a janitor at the old Otter River School/town offices I can appreciate the space and good location of the East Templeton School for Town Offices. This building although in need of some repair would make a nice addition to the great work that has been done by the business people in East Templeton. This section of town has become the gem of Templeton and a refurbished town hall here would really cap things off.
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