Tisbury is setting its sights on consolidating its town hall at the end of High Point Lane, while also relocating the police station to the same area and selling the downtown Vineyard Haven property where the current police department is located. Meanwhile, voters will be asked to spend nearly $9 million for a library addition and renovation project.
The Tisbury select board voted unanimously on Tuesday to add a warrant article for town meeting to spend $600,000 on professional services toward the consolidation plan for 66 High Point Lane, which is next door to the closed Tisbury landfill.
The latest decision is a change of plans from earlier this year, when town officials were looking at a parcel on a town-owned parcel on West William Street to build a town hall. This came after they considered the former EduComp building near Main Street in Vineyard Haven.
In a memo to the select board, town administrator Jay Grande said an increase in traffic and other municipal uses would have a direct impact on the dense residential neighborhood and on the Tisbury School on West William Street; he said there were also limitations with parking.
“The interest in 66 High Point Lane is that it represents the one alternative for both consolidated Town Hall and new Police Station to be located on the same property with the cost of construction offset significantly by the sale of existing Police Station and 55 West William Street- properties,” his memo reads. “66 High Point Lane also has the advantage of providing sufficient on-site parking and room to expand in the future, which the other locations previously referenced do not.”
The town currently assesses the property at the police station — across from Stop and Shop — at $2.15 million.
The $600,000 in funding at town meeting would cover services for architecture, design, cost estimating, and bidding an owner project manager.
The special town meeting will take place December 17 at the Performing Arts Center at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved the addition of an article to the warrant requesting $8.8 million for the Vineyard Haven Public Library’s addition and renovation project.
The funds will be for design, engineering, and construction to repair, renovate and enlarge the library.
Library director Amy Ryan told the town select board at their Wednesday meeting that the library received cost estimates late last month for the project, and that the $8.8 million figure before voters reflects the higher of the two estimates. The number could be revised lower before the meeting warrant closes, which the board plans to vote upon on November 4.
Ryan added that the project has gone out to bid, and that the library anticipates having bids available ahead of town meeting.
She also said that how the article will be funded is to be determined.
Voters would have to approve the spending request through a ballot question at the special town election currently set for January 7, if it is approved at town meeting.
Playing with other peoples money must be fun.
They haven’t even finished the $50 million elementary school yet and are already eyeing their next big spend. Nothing is wrong with the existing properties. The towns difficulty in finding good employees has bothering to do with the buildings these people have to work in. If it was their own money, they’d never be looking to spend spend spend but because it’s our funds, let er rip!
Prediction: the police station gets turned into yet another windfarm dormitory.
Are the existing facilities adequate?
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