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No One Knows

The simple truth about the Academy School project is that no one knows what the final price tag will be if the project is permitted to continue. Cost estimates have been and will continue to be a moving target. The amount approved at a referendum in February 2022 and current overruns of $3.8 million are meaningless. This project could ultimately cost upwards of $30 million; it will easily surpass Salt Meadow Park as Madison's all-time boondoggle.

Aside from cost, the issue of who/what will use the building when/if completed needs to be considered. Town officials, when asked, usually say "mixed usage" which means they don't know.

Madison already has a gym and pickleball courts at Town Campus, the Arts Barn, and an auditorium and stage at Polson Middle School. The town also has an excellent movie theater and coffee shops like Starbucks, Willoughbys, RJ Cafe and Bistro, and Madison Coffee House, where folks can meet and socialize. We have numerous indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including a dog park and bark swim at Surf Club, Bauer Farm, and Salt Meadow Park. Scranton Library offers many excellent programs for all ages, and the senior center has billiard tables, exercise rooms, great lunches, and more.

What could the Academy Project provide that we don't already have? Perhaps an ice skating rink, which wouldn't be compatible with the Academy building, or maybe an indoor dog park, which is not needed (we already have three).

The Board of Selectmen need to take the reasonable and ethical path of canceling the referendum on Academy overruns and schedule a referendum on the viability of the entire project, not during February 2025. Cost estimates and town sentiment are markedly different than in 2022.

Madison taxpayers deserve nothing less.

Allen Jewell

Madison