York Town News
Budget Committee changes vote and places $6.5 million Town Hall request on the ballot for May
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK VILLAGE - At first, it looked like the voters would not be the ones to decide whether to support the proposed 23,000-square-foot Town Hall project on land the town purchased last year.When the Budget Committee met last Tuesday night, Feb. 27, the first vote failed to place the $6.5 million request to build the new facility - which would bring together all the current Town Hall departments as well as York Parks and Recreation, create storage space and add a new community meeting room on the almost six acres of land the voters agreed to purchase in York Village last May - on the budget warrant.
Budget Committee member Rudy Freitag was unable to attend the meeting, and when it came time to vote on the project, Chairman Greg Orso was joined by Lin Napier and Mike Quinn in support of putting the question to the voters. Budget Committee members David Lincoln, Greg Filias and Nancy Eaton voted in opposition. A majority vote is required to place an item on the ballot.
In the end, however, Eaton and Filias changed their votes and, although opposed to the project itself, agreed the voters should have the final say.
Lincoln, meanwhile, told the board he is not opposed to the size of the project, but questioned the amount of information that is available to the voters at this time. He urged the town to do more in-depth studies of the site and the impact of the proposed project.
"My main problem with this proposal is that there are several cost elements that are not identified to my satisfaction," he said, adding later, "… I think it's an appropriate design and an appropriate size."
Orso noted that the information presented to the Budget Committee to date is in keeping with the practice of prior building projects, based on the cost of such studies and the information needed for the first step in the approval process.
Filias spoke in opposition to the size of the project, based on the current size of Town Hall.
"We want to build a monument here that's 23,000-square-feet," he said. "… I think that this is an obscene proposal. … It's like trading up from a Subaru to a Mercedes."
Town Manager Rob Yandow pointed out that, if approved by the voters, the project will need to go through the Planning Board review process prior to any construction.
"We get penalized for starting in a very inadequate building at 6,000 square feet. … These are not opulent offices," Yandow said in response to comments about the size of the building, adding that 23,000 square feet is not oversized for what the design firm, SMRT, has determined the town needs to perform its functions for the community.
Filias also brought up the work of the School Building Committee on last year's York High School Arts Wing proposal to compare the size of the addition to similar communities, suggesting the town should have done the same with the proposed Town Hall.
"We have to get over the auditorium," Orso said of the review of the Town Hall request. "The auditorium was voted down by the public. This property was purchased by the public. … The public has made it clear they want a Town Hall."
Orso pointed out that the two ballot questions related to purchasing the Coventry Hall land and the study for a Town Hall passed by margins of 1,100 and 900 votes. That, he said, was a strong indicator that the Budget Committee had a responsibility to let the voters decide on the proposed project.
Napier, too, voiced concerns about the project, such as traffic impact on Long Sands Road. However, she told the board, she would vote to put the question forward to the voters.
"I think any item should be passed along to the voters so they can decide whether they want it or not," Napier said, adding she is not personally in favor of the Town Hall.
Eaton disagreed, stating the Budget Committee should weigh the worth of items and determine which have the merit to be moved forward to the May vote.
Lincoln suggested a ballot request to allow for more study and then, if that study supported the project, the use of the $6.5 million toward the project itself.
That, Orso and Yandow both confirmed, would not be allowed due to the town's requirements for ballot items for bonded projects.
Lincoln and Filias both brought up the ongoing cost to taxpayers in terms of operating budgets, as well as other capital projects that will be proposed in the years ahead.
"We are very close to owning a piece of land for a police station, or at least having an option on it," Lincoln said.
Later in the week, Selectmen Chairman David Marshall said that is not quite the case.
"We are continuing to work on options on multiple pieces of property for the police station, but despite what has been reported by some, we have not had any final negotiations on any one piece of property," he said.
At this point, Marshall said Monday, parcels the town has identified as possible sites for a new Police Department remain potential options for the town.
"We all agree that we need a police station," Orso said at last week's meeting, but pointed out, "the only piece of land that we have right now … is not suited for a police station. When we bought it, the public knew it. … To the extent that any of us don't know something, it's our own fault."
When the first vote failed, Yandow pointed out that the result would be the voters would not get to decide whether they want a new Town Hall as proposed.
"Six people have said I don't get to vote on it," he said, speaking as a local resident. He urged the committee to put the question on the ballot and allow the preference votes to serve as the guide to the voters.
Filias said he wanted the voters to have more information.
"We want people to know more before they vote," he said. "… Our responsibility as fiscal managers is being weakened right now."
Orso disagreed.
"We're saying to them, 'You don't know enough.' … That's being paternalistic," he said. "…Why do we have a Board of Selectmen setting policy items? Why do we have a subcommittee set aside for purposes of managing this type of development? And then the six of us … or the seven us … say we're not going to let anybody vote on this?"
Ultimately, Eaton, Filias and Lincoln all agreed to revisit the question of whether the request should be placed on the ballot.
Quinn pointed out that it is not just the current Town Hall but also the Recreation Department and community meeting room that will be housed on the new site, adding it would not be consistent with his past votes not to put the question to the town as a whole.
"This building is sized appropriately for our current Town Hall needs. … We're not buying a pig in a poke," Lincoln said, adding the information provided is good information, but not enough. "I think we have a need for a Town Hall of this type on that property, but I want to know … some of the dollar dimensions."
Quinn made the motion for the $6,522,790 for a new Town Hall, which was ultimately approved 5-1 for inclusion on the ballot, with Lincoln in opposition.
Speaking after the meeting, Marshall said he was pleased the voters would be given the opportunity to decide.
Referencing recent comments from a handful of residents questioning whether the town should explore a relocation of the project to the Fazio property on Woodbridge Road, Marshall said the town has not considered that site because the voters approved the purchase of the nearly six acres behind Coventry Hall last year, before the Fazio property became available. The town needs at least five acres for the project and required parking, Marshall said, adding the Coventry Hall land was purchased a significantly lower cost than the asking price for the 1.8-acre Fazio site, and added the construction of a Town Hall there would require the demolition of three existing buildings.
"We were fortunate enough to find a piece of land in York Village," he said of last year's vote, adding, "if the voters decide to turn this project down, we'll come back with other options."
Marshall's concern, which was echoed by several Budget Committee members, is that the rate of inflation for such projects will mean a higher cost if the plan is delayed.
During the Budget Committee's public hearing on the budget, there were no comments about the Town Hall. Several residents did speak out in support of the York High School Athletic Department budget, which the committee had voted to include in the total operating budget for York High School as requested.
The Budget Committee was scheduled to meet at press time on Tuesday, March 6, to begin casting preference votes on the fiscal 2008 budget requests. The committee is scheduled to hold its next public hearing on the budget on March 13.
