Facilities Steering Committee
Meeting minutes for 1/16/18
7:00 pm at town hall annex
Attending for the committee: Chris Conway, Karen Cruise, Steve Mirick, Larry Todd,
Mary Jo Wojtusik
Attending for the town: board of selectmen members: Richard Bisk, Jon Fudeman, Edith Morgan;
Attending for the advisory committee: Wayne Adams, Donald Schoeny, Judy Dino, George Handy, James O’Coin, John Shipman.
Karen opened the meeting at 7:00 pm
The minutes of the 1/9/18 meeting were approved.
The purpose of the meeting was to update the BOS and advisory committee on the progress of the steering committee and solicit their input.
The FSC has identified restorative work on Bagg Hall the first priority. There is still a question as to what priority to give a new public safety building. And should we invest in the annex to continue and expand its use for 10 more years?
Chris Conway spoke about his vision for the buildings and Steve Mirick again identified parking and meeting space as concerns.
The FSC was asked what we advocate as priorities and we have no clear answer at this point beyond work on Bagg Hall.
The FSC feels strongly that deferred maintenance is a large part of our problem.
John Fudeman felt we should find ways to get more public input. We will have a public presentation on Feb. 3 and there were recent letters sent with the town’s mailing for the annual street update and also with the 2017 Princeton Community Directory produced by the historical society.
A comment was made that once we put a dollar amount on the proposed work and show an increase in property taxes we will get public interest and response.
It was noted that we have had people representing a number of town groups at previous meetings, including the library, the arts society, and the council on aging, advocating for community space.
Edith Morgan spoke regarding her vision for a Bagg Hall addition to provide that community space.
There were various comments from those in attendance.
There is agreement that the FSC needs to recommend a plan that will have the support of the BOS and the advisory committee.
A comment was made that we need to address the greatest needs first (what are they ?), and try to minimize the impact on taxes. Can the town utilize more space at Post Office place for other functions?
The opinion was expressed that there is not leadership support for our proposals.
There was discussion of financing, the amount the town can borrow as other debt is paid off, an the impact on the tax rate. A new resident of Princeton felt younger members of the community support work on the buildings.
Should the committee have a video tour of the buildings to promote public awareness ?
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.
Submitted by Larry Todd, secretary
Note: there were many other comments made by those in attendance but I have tried to include the most important points.
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