Townsend considers options after residents reject plan to build new town hall

TOWNSEND – Town residents on May 14 overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to construct a new town hall for as much as $1.9 million, apparently because it didn’t include a new fire station.

Town chairman Carla Van Camp attributed the loss to the fire department and its supporters who “overwhelmed” the special town meeting.

“The fire department wants a new fire department. They feel that that’s more important than a town hall that’s almost condemned,” Van Camp said.

Fire Chief Dawn Herlache said her department had played no role in shooting down the measure, which failed 70-125 (with three abstentions).

Many residents, she explained, wondered why a new fire department couldn’t be included in the $1.9 million plan, which was estimated to add $35 to the property taxes on a $100,000 home.

“My personal opinion is, I think the biggest reason why it didn’t pass is a lot of people didn’t feel that they were getting a good explanation of what that $1.9 million was completely covering,” she said.

The proposed structure would have provided more office room, a kitchen with retractable service windows, and storage room for tables and chairs. It would also have about 200 square feet additional space for community activities than the current facility.

Van Camp said the current building is used for a variety of events – family gatherings, blood drives, classes, funerals – more than 200 times a year, she said.

“It’s a busy town hall,” Van Camp said.

However, she said the pole building put up more than 50 years ago “is basically falling apart.”

The building is poorly insulated, the electrical system is not up to code, the floors are in poor condition, and signs of mold are in the attic and wall, she said. The septic system has been condemned and can’t be replaced.

Van Camp said the town board and a group of community residents began planning for a new building about 4½ years ago, but it was put off until about a year ago because of the pandemic.

Town residents John and Monica Zeller noted the original budget for the project was $1.57 million, but residents said that didn’t include numerous costs, such as signage, landscaping, site utilities and others.

In a letter, the Zellers said the board responded by increasing the proposal to $1.9 million, though they contended the town hasn’t determined if that was just a guess or a realistic number.

“It has been mentioned that our fire department building is also in need of repairs and at what time will the residents be asked to fund this building project?” they asked in a letter. “Should we not incorporate all of our town buildings into a master facility plan that would give residents a clear picture of our pending needs?"

In a letter read to electors before the vote, town resident Kathleen Marsh said she’d seen the Zellers’ letter and agreed with it and another a letter on the topic published by an area paper.

Still, the current town hall is in too bad of shape to not move ahead with the project, she added.

“If we vote no today, that building will either burn down, blow down, fall down or be condemned and torn down. And then what will we do?” Marsh asked.

Herlache said she asked about whether a new fire department was being considered at one of the early planning meetings for the new town hall. She said she was told there wasn’t enough room for both on the site, on a nearby property already owned by the town.

The current fire department building does need some maintenance, she said. Located in separate building just north of the town hall, it received a $195,000 addition in 2006, which provided room for trucks and training.

“It’s not falling apart by any means,” Herlache said. “We don’t have to have a new fire department right now, but some thinking is that if you’re going to spend this much money, why not take care of both at the same time?”

Van Camp said the new site doesn’t have direct access to the highway like the current site. If the new hall would have been approved, she said, the fire department could have access to the existing town hall property, which it could have used for the annual July 4 events it holds as a fundraiser.

She expected the question to be defeated when she opened the special meeting for discussion, and noted that one local business had even made up T-shirts opposing the project.

“We’ll see where this goes,” Van Camp said. “We have some options.”

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Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 431-8226 or ktempus@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Townsend residents reject plan to build new town hall