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10/19/2021 03:33 PMThe Board of Selectman (BOS) appears to be moving forward with a community center proposal for the long-dormant Academy Building in downtown. The debate for what to do with this valuable space continued for more than 17 years and was further derailed by pandemic restrictions, but it now looks possible for it to head to a referendum in February 2022 with a slightly altered design plan.
A proposal in 2018 in which residents provided input on keeping the property as a town-owned community center was moving along until 2019 when pandemic issues sidetracked an actual vote.
Several changes to this 2019 proposal were put forward by First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons at the Oct. 12 BOS meeting, the most significant being the inclusion of space to accommodate Madison Youth & Family Services (MYFS) from its under-sized facility and the other change being the constantly increasing costs for construction, which are also being heavily affected by the pandemic.
Lyons said that the current proposal is almost identical to the 2019 plan.
“The only real change is we are just using a little bit more of the space for town use because we identified a need based on our town-wide facility study. It made so much sense to pull in Youth & Family Services into this building. This had been talked about before and [MYFS] is a core part of strategy because it solves some town problems,” said Lyons.
Selectman Bruce Wilson, who said he was a motivating force in 2018 to conduct the public survey on the property, and Selectman Erin Duques both took exception as to how this new version of the proposed plan has been presented.
“I think it’s a disservice to the process to spring it the way it was sprung,” Wilson said. “I think this is part of a long list of campaign promises that haven’t been acted upon and now in the waning months of the administration there is now suddenly a rush.”
Both Wilson and Lyons are seeking the first selectman seat in the Nov. 2 elections.
MYFS Director Scott Cochran explained that his department’s facility, which sits next door to the Academy building, will require more than $1.6 million in renovations to accommodate the organization’s needs, according to a 2017 study. Cochran said the current Academy proposal would help address many of MYFS current location’s issues.
“At that time (2017), that figure was considered cost prohibitive and quite frankly I could understand and even agreed with that, which is why we have been pursuing whatever other options we could since then,” said Cochran. “Putting us into Academy really hits on a number of our needs. One, it gets all of our operations under one roof…and it really creates a lot of opportunity for us. We’re really just very happy, pleased, ecstatic at this point to be part of this project.”
The escalating construction costs and also the time estimates for any building project were also factored into this new proposal, according to Lyons. Several areas of construction would be shelved for further consideration in order to balance these unpredictable and increasing construction costs.
“We really wanted to take this historic landmark in downtown, which has sat vacant since 2004 and has been kind of a black hole in the middle of our downtown community, and try to transform it into something that will be vibrant and special to serve everybody,” said Lyons during the Oct. 12 BOS meeting. “The renovations costs in 2019 was at $14 million. We’ve now gone up to $15 million and most of that is construction costs escalation and some of it is the utilization to office space.”
Beach & Recreation and Senior Center Director Austin Hall also commented on how important the Academy proposal would be to his departments, especially the Senior Center, which, though a valuable asset for seniors, often cannot accommodate many of the programs and activities that Hall and his department would like to host.
“The opportunity to have recital areas, staging, and theater space would be exciting for all ages in town. To be able to have concerts and presentations in a proper area will go a long way to attract who we can get for programming and how many people we can accommodate for programming,” said Hall.
Bill Stableford, a long-time volunteer and organizer of numerous town committees and projects and who now is chair of the Academy Community Center Design Committee, said the economic benefits and educational benefits to the town will quickly resonate with residents.
“The word I like to use is ‘inestimable,’” said Stableford. “The possibilities are endless. This project, along with the library, will be cornerstones of a vibrant and exciting downtown. This will not only meet the needs of seniors, students, gym users, and others, but will be a huge revenue generator when performances and activities are held. It will be great for businesses downtown and for all of the community needs that we currently have.”
The next action will be at the Nov. 8 BOS meeting, where a final presentation will be made to the board and provide for discussion of any possible revisions or changes. After that, according to Lyons, there will be public information sessions held so that all residents can provide input as to what they would like to see occur.
The public is encouraged by all board members to review the plan on-line at the town site and provide feedback when the information sessions are scheduled