March 28, 2024

Voters Give the Go-ahead to New Municipal Complex

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Voters at the Special Town Meeting on Jan. 23 approved the new $9.3 million Municipal Complex project. The new municipal building will be located at the site of the current public safety headquarters at 334 Anawan Street and include facilities for the Town Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, Ambulance, REMA and building department. All the town departments will be housed under one roof.
This is only the first step in the project. The project will also be on the ballot at the April election so voters can approve the funding. The project will be paid through a temporary tax increase, called a debt exclusion, an override of Proposition 2 ½.

The estimated tax increase is expected to be $30-$40 per $100,000 of assessed home value and may be less. The town is planning to apply for grants and to use recurring income, such as revenue from solar farm agreements, wherever possible to offset the debt.
At the Special Town Meeting, Selectman Gerald Schwall and Board of Health Director Bob Ashton, chairman of the municipal complex building committee, spoke in favor of the project. “We spent close to three years developing the building complex that we present tonight to meet the needs of the town and to also provide a safe and efficient complex for future years,” Ashton said.
Ashton said that because the new government complex will be located across from the Highway Department all town departments would be within walking distance of each other. He also said that the site is more than 10 acres, which will allow for expansion in the future.

Schwall, who was not speaking on behalf of the board of selectmen, talked about the many problems that exist at town hall and the public safety buildings.  “We have sick buildings, ladies and gentlemen. The town hall is a sick building. We have asbestos in the building. We have water that we can’t drink. You can’t wash your hands in town hall…. We have a Police Chief that about three times a year walks into his office and finds the ceiling on his desk. We have a vault that has a tarp with a hole in it to drain the water that comes through the roof,” Schwall said. “It’s not a matter of, ‘if we can get by’ anymore. It’s a matter of, ‘we need to do it,’” Schwall said.

There was not very much opposition to the article. Carol Williams said there was no doubt that the expansion and improvements are needed, but questioned whether it was really a “25-year solution.” She also said the town hall should be built as a stand-alone building.
Williams made a motion to table the article, but the motion to postpone was overwhelmingly defeated.

One man asked what was going to happen to the current town hall building if the new municipal complex is built. Schwall said that initially, it will be used for additional storage for the town. Someone else asked whether the animal shelter would also be moved to Anawan Street, but officials said the animal shelter will remain in its present location.

The vote required a two-thirds majority to pass and it won approval easily. At the end of the meeting, an announcement was made that Bob Ashton would be retiring as Health Agent after serving the town for 15 years. He received a standing ovation.  “It’s been an honor to serve the town of Rehoboth,” Ashton said.

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