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12/07/2021 02:36 PMTwo long dormant town projects inched closer to a public referendum last week after a unanimous Board of Selectman (BOS) vote. At its Dec. 7 meeting, the board voted to send both the Academy School renovation plan and the larger schools renewal plans on to the Board of Finance (BOF) for approval, making it likely that residents will see a referendum vote in February.
If the BOF approves the measure, which officials expect to occur, the measure would then move back to the BOS for approval to establish a referendum for public vote on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.
At the Dec. 7 meeting, the BOS approved an $89.2 million plan for the renewal of existing buildings and the construction of a new elementary school. This figure does not include $1.3 million that needs to be appropriated to purchase the property required for the construction of the new elementary school, referred to as the Janssen property.
First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said that the proposal is the best way to finance the construction and the purchase of the needed property.
“All this is doing is giving us authority to use the undesignated fund balance to purchase the property,” said Lyons. “We’re not going out and buying the property now, we are just saying we are going to pay for it out of the fund balance, if it passes, rather than bonding for it. Bonding is going to be more expensive.”
That approval is expected at a Monday, Dec. 20 Special Appropriations meeting of the BOS. Under this approved proposal, the town is not obligated to purchase the property if the referendum is not passed by residents, though the town does retain the option to buy it if that scenario occurs.
The approved plan includes provisions for the following projects:
· Construction of a pre-K to 5 elementary school off of Green Hill and Mungertown Roads
· Transforming Brown Intermediate School into a K to 5 school
· Maintaining Polson as a grade 6 to 8 school and Daniel Hand High School (DHHS) for grades 9 to 12
· Completion of significant renovations at Polson including new air quality systems/HVAC, an auditorium modernization, and security enhancements for DHHS.
Other details of the new plan include the closure of two of the town’s oldest school buildings—J. Milton Jeffrey and Kathleen Ryerson elementary schools—as well as the Town Campus Learning Center Preschool (TCLC).
Selectman Noreen Kokoruda said that she is pleased overall with the plan and wants taxpayers to understand the proposal before they cast their vote at any referendum
“Our job now is to make sure now that anyone who wants to vote has the correct information, and all of the information. We’ve been kicking this thing around a long time, and we want this to be clean and transparent,” said Kokoruda. “We will do that by getting that information out without leaning one way or the other. Our job is to get this to voters so they can make the decision. I’m going to really push so that clear information is out there on what the short-term and long-term costs of these projects are and how they’re going to impact our budget and how they’re going to impact their lives.”
Kokoruda said that going forward on these projects will hopefully bode well for other town projects, especially in light of the federal funds that have, and will be, arriving to town coffers after passage of the American Rescue Plan and the recent federal infrastructure bill.
“We have to support this referendum and make sure people don’t think we’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes,” said Kokoruda. “We’ve got so many projects that need money—we have to finish our downtown, the Madison Hose Company is in dire need of help, the Surf Club—we have so many projects that need money. It’s great that the state is so flush now with these funds, but that’s not going to last forever.”
The BOS also approved a $16 million measure for the complete renovation of the Academy School building, which has sat unoccupied for close to two decades. The current plan for this site includes new Senior Center office and activity space and new offices for Madison Youth & Family Services. It will also offer a large performance space that town officials hope will bring in revenue by hosting art and performance events.
Both sides of the aisle seemed pleased with the progress and hailed the approvals as a long-needed resolution for taxpayers for these critical projects.
Lyons said she is enthusiastic that these long-stagnant projects are finally moving along toward a vote for taxpayers.
“It is very exciting. The town has been unable to make decisions on any of our capital plans, without knowing what we’re doing with our schools. The schools have been in a holding pattern for a long time. It’s very difficult for us to make any kind of investment decisions in the buildings because no one wants to put money into a building that might be torn down, renovated, or sold,” said Lyons.
“I’m excited to move this forward. I think it’s a great plan and it offers residents a vision,” Lyons continued. “Unlike other towns that have voted on very large projects that just had one building, we are touching many buildings in one plan. We really want people to understand the whole picture. That’s what’s great about this is it’s a whole plan for the community. If you look at Clinton’s new high school or Guilford’s, those were projects that were more expensive than what we’re voting on, but we’re touching four buildings, not just one. It positions us well long-term far into the future.”
According to town officials, currently the referendum will have two options and possibly three. One will be approval of the School Renewal proposal, two will be the approval for the Academy Building funding and the third, which will still need BOS and BOF approval, which is expected to occur, will be the sale of the Island Avenue School. The final approval where the bonding resolution would be approved by the BOS will not occur until January and the referendum date will be firmly fixed.