Floor plans and architectural drawings of the proposed Whitefield town office and community center will be unveiled Wed., March 11 at a public informational meeting in the school gym.
The $750,000 project, shepherded by the town property committee, got traction about a year after voters at the March 2005 annual town meeting approved (67 to 8) purchasing the John Greene property next to the existing town office. A capital reserve fund was established in 2006.
Committee members have met regularly since then to develop a long-range design. Lynn Talacko, of the architectural firm Royal Barry Wills Associates, has drawn up a plan for 4600 square feet of usable space, including offices for selectmen, the planning board and conference rooms; vault storage for important records; a 100-person capacity meeting room; a space for voting; and a public gathering area for children’s activities, book exchange and internet access.
The energy-efficient construction features south-facing windows to capture solar heat.
The grounds will provide parking for about 70 vehicles and a road encircling the site will allow safe loading and discharging of students behind the school.
There is also potential space for a public safety building “if the town wants it in the future,” said chairman Erik Ekholm during an early February meeting of the town budget committee.
David Dixon, whom Ekholm credited with doing much of the financial work, said borrowing rates are attractive.
The warrant article, to be voted on later this month at the annual meeting, asks for $48,775, which would be the first loan payment. The committee assumes an annual interest rate of 5 percent over a 30-year period. The cost to taxpayers translates to an increase of about 50-cents for every thousand dollars of assessed property.
Current committee members besides Ekholm and Dixon are Carole Cifrino, Herb Hartman, Sue McKeen, Frank Ober, and Louis Sell.
The informational meeting begins at 7 p.m.
