To the Voters of Marion:
We urge you to support the Town House Renovation Plan, which will come before the voters at Town Meeting on May 14.
After six years of planning and revisions, the current proposal is finely tuned to the needs of the community and to concerns about wise and economically-prudent public expenditures. The past year’s consideration of an alternate new construction project on Route 6 was productive in that it generated careful review and more modest programmatic needs for both options.
At 11,000 square feet, the Renovation Option meets all of the Town’s needs within the original 1876 building, including a basement for important archival record storage needs. The additional cost differential over new construction for the median tax rate is less than $36 per year.
Further, the public benefit of keeping the Town House at its central convenient location is considerable. There is no certainty whatsoever that the building would be scooped up and appropriately renovated by a private developer in a timely manner or without major additions and/or changes to the site plan.
How much longer can we continue to praise the beauty of Marion’s historic seaside charm if we aren’t willing to step up to preserve and maintain the historic buildings which comprise that image? If we don’t, Marion’s seaside charm will soon be nothing more than a myth.
The emotional responsiveness and heartfelt concern that residents have voiced at public meetings are exactly what is needed to spark the interest and commitment to saving historic buildings such as this one.
We urge you to attend Town Meeting and support the Renovation Plan on May 14.
Thank you,
The Marion Town House Building Committee
Robert Raymond, Chair
Shaun Cormier
Lynn Crocker
Priscilla Ditchfield
Wayne Mattson
Bill Saltonstall
Meg Steinberg
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