GUILFORD – Last night Guilford and Mt. Upton residents got one last chance to educate themselves and ask questions about the new Guilford town hall project that will take its chances with voters, Tuesday. For the last few weeks, Town of Guilford officials have been working hard to inform the public about their new building project. The town has organized public information meetings and sent pamphlets containing graphs, rough blueprints and other information to 1,001 local residents.
Town officials believe the first plan was defeated in April by public confusion. “A lot of people had quite a bit of misinformation,” said committee member, Bruce Winsor.
The original plan estimated at $2.5 million was defeated and the town has made an attempt to review and improve the project, trying to make it more affordable. The new cost is just under $1.9 million. Officials decided to make cuts in the town hall, reducing the area by 1,800 square feet. Also, the full service kitchen and emergency generator were scrapped, altogether saving just over $600,000.
The total effect on property taxes according to last night’s meeting is “no more than a total of $0.31 per $1,000 assessed value for the life of the bond,” which is about 25 years.
Councilman George Seneck read through a list of inadequacies the current town hall faces; a leaking roof, inaccessiblity to the handicapped, a lack of space, not enough parking, it’s unable to meet modern technological demands and has moisture issues which threaten both the structure and paper records. The 50 plus year old building has had many repairs done to extend its life in the last few years.
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