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11/18/2009 11:00 PMIt was a meeting just like all the rest, but for Velma "You've been a woman of integrity and represented this town's interests extremely well. [You've] served on this board for 10 years during some of the most difficult times of this town," said
Thomas, it was her last as a selectman. And both of the
Republican members of the board team that had served with her for 10 years took the opportunity to praise her contributions.
"You've been a woman of integrity and represented this town's interests extremely well. [You've] served on this board for 10 years during some of the most difficult times of this town," said In the decade they served
Selectman Bill Peace.
In the decade they served Thomas in turn has used her interior design training to select the finishes (paint colors, flooring, carpet, tiles, window treatments), furniture, and furniture layout for virtually every municipal building project completed in the past 10 years.
together, Peace and Thomas each volunteered their specific professional training and experience to support town initiatives, all without charge. Peace used his technical training and experience as a state Department of Transportation engineer to help the town staff plan, successfully seek grants to pay for, and oversee key road and town public works projects like the replacement of the Mudd Creek Bridge.
Thomas in turn has used her interior design training to select the finishes (paint colors, flooring, carpet, tiles, window treatments), furniture, and furniture layout for virtually every municipal building project completed in the past 10 years.The first project she tackled was to transform a building at Saybrook Point into the town's Pasbeshauke Pavilion meeting space.
The first project she tackled was to transform a building at Saybrook Point into the town's Pasbeshauke Pavilion meeting space.Thomas next worked for
Thomas next worked for For the Town Hall renovation project, Thomas worked first with each town department to determine the flow and volume of work to assess how it might
1½ years with the Building Committee overseeing the addition and renovation of Acton Public Library. Selecting the specific paint colors, furniture selections, wood colors, woodwork details, carpet, and other interior details was her charge, working with the architect and the Building
Committee.
For the Town Hall renovation project, Thomas worked first with each town department to determine the flow and volume of work to assess how it might Then it was on to the Estuary Senior Center addition and renovation project. For that project, she attended job meetings once a week for a year as the selectmen's representative; she also was responsible for selecting the project's interior design elements like paint color palette, finishes, flooring, furniture, and layouts. For another similar project, the Gateway Building at the head of Main Street, she selected both the interior and exterior paint palette and then selected the interior light fixtures and other finishes.
affect the choice and arrangement of specific furniture. From this analysis, she prepared a recommended purchase list of specific furniture and prepared layout drawings of how to
arrange the furnishing in the finished town offices.
Then it was on to the Estuary Senior Center addition and renovation project. For that project, she attended job meetings once a week for a year as the selectmen's representative; she also was responsible for selecting the project's interior design elements like paint color palette, finishes, flooring, furniture, and layouts. For another similar project, the Gateway Building at the head of Main Street, she selected both the interior and exterior paint palette and then selected the interior light fixtures and other finishes.But Thomas' biggest municipal project by far was serving as the selectmen's representative for six years on two town committees-first, the Theater Feasibility Study Committee and second, the Theater Project Building Committee. These two committees were responsible for taking the concept of converting the former Town Hall into a theater into the finished building that recently opened as the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center at 300 Main Street.
But Thomas' biggest municipal project by far was serving as the selectmen's representative for six years on two town committees-first, the Theater Feasibility Study Committee and second, the Theater Project Building Committee. These two committees were responsible for taking the concept of converting the former Town Hall into a theater into the finished building that recently opened as the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center at 300 Main Street."For most of the six years, the [theater] Building Committee met once a week. And when we formed the theater Design Committee, [that group] also met once a week for a year," said Thomas.
"For most of the six years, the [theater] Building Committee met once a week. And when we formed the theater Design Committee, [that group] also met once a week for a year," said Thomas. She figures she spent hundreds of volunteer hours on this project alone.
She figures she spent hundreds of volunteer hours on this project alone.Thomas over the past year was the selectmen's liaison to the HOPE Partnership, working with the team that took the affordable housing project through the approval hoops of town land use boards. But her last project is one that will be part of the current and future boards of selectmen meetings for many years: the restored and reframed wall-sized photos that hang on main Town Hall conference room walls. The historic photos had begun to bow and pull away from their aging frames. Now future residents-and selectmen-can again
Thomas over the past year was the selectmen's liaison to the HOPE Partnership, working with the team that took the affordable housing project through the approval hoops of town land use boards. But her last project is one that will be part of the current and future boards of selectmen meetings for many years: the restored and reframed wall-sized photos that hang on main Town Hall conference room walls. The historic photos had begun to bow and pull away from their aging frames. Now future residents-and selectmen-can again
admire these restored historic photos that hail from another era of the town's history.