Tisbury will hold a special town meeting this winter to consider the purchase of modular buildings to use as temporary town office space during construction of a new town hall.
The select board voted this week to hold the town meeting on January 11 and are tasking town administrator Jay Grande with drafting warrant articles for the meeting.
Tisbury is seeking a new, consolidated town hall due to subpar conditions at its current offices. 51 Spring Street has mold and other issues, and the 66 High Point Lane annex has a rodent problem.
A town-owned site at 55 West William Street — which already has functioning water and power — has become the preferred spot for a permanent town hall.
The town meeting date was set at a Monday joint meeting between the Tisbury select board and the town’s consolidated town hall task group, at which financial considerations for the project were further discussed.
Some details of the town’s plans for the units are still being worked out. Four modular units are now being leased for the Tisbury School project, and the select board and task group propose buying two for an interim town hall. Task group members have stated that two units together would cost around $2 million, provide 11,000 square feet, and serve as town offices for 5–10 years.
Since the exact price of the units will not be known until a bid is made, prices stated in the warrant articles may exceed what Tisbury would end up spending.
Where the interim town hall would be located is also to be determined. The task group’s Amy Houghton stated at the meeting that keeping the modular units at the school would save money on disassembly and relocation.
If funding for the units is approved, Tisbury would have to decide whether to buy them by February 15. The purchase would occur by April.
Should double wides be allowed everywhere in town?
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