Letter to the Editor:

I read with interest Mr. Saltonstall’s letter to the press arguing that enough homework has been done and it is time to get on with plans to renovate the Town House. We have no doubt that the Town House Building Committee has done a great deal of homework. Our impression, however, is that most of the THBC’s work focused on renovating the Town house. Yes, the THBC looked at some preliminary designs for a new building on the baseball field behind the existing Town building, but it dismissed that option early on. Building new at the VFW site also was not an option at that time.

In its presentation at the recent public forum, for comparing building new with the cost estimates for renovating the Town house, THBC took the preliminary design and cost work which was done for that new building at the ball field and relocated it to the VFW site. That proposed two story building is 13,000 GSF, including 1,000 square feet of meeting space, with a projected total cost of $9,140,613 or $703 per square foot.

To meet the needs of Marion, a new building does not need to be nearly as large as 13,000 square feet and should cost much less than $700 per square foot. Here is why:

– Building new presents the opportunity to totally rethink the use of space and to reduce and refine the amount of office space and common space. A flexible and open design also will provide flexibility to respond to future change.

– Plans for the new building can take into consideration existing Town facilities. For example, it does not need an 850-square foot meeting room. (Such a meeting room already was eliminated in the THBC’s option 3A for renovating the Town House.) We have the Music Hall for large meetings.

– With a new building, the Town can eliminate most onsite paper record storage through the smart use of technology and electronic access to documents. Paper documents can go into cold storage at, for example, Atlantis Drive (which is essentially next door to the VFW site).

– Sale of the existing Town House to a developer (with a historic deed restriction) is likely to save the town the cost of remediating the mold and asbestos in the Town House and the cost of having to temporarily relocate town offices during the renovation. This way, the historic building can be restored in its present location well into the future.

– Converting the Town House to condos (or apartments or senior living) will generate badly needed incremental tax revenues reducing the effective cost of the new building by an estimated $1 million per the analysis of the Chair of the Town’s finance committee. And, the condos meet a real need for more housing options for senior citizens who desire to downsize but to stay in the Village.

There are 6.5 acres at the VFW site, so building the new Town administrative building there in no way jeopardizes the Town’s commitment to dedicate the existing VFW building to a senior center. In fact, having the new town building on the VFW site is likely to greatly enhance the setting through better landscaping, parking, etc.

Before moving ahead with the renovation of the Town House, more homework needs to be put into determining the appropriate size, design, and cost of a new building. We owe it to the citizens of Marion to provide them full and accurate information regarding the cost and conceptual design of an attractive new building so they can make a well- informed choice between renovating and building new.

John P. Waterman, Marion

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

To the Editor:

The Old Rochester Regional (ORR) School Committee supports the Tri-Town Unified Recreational Facilities, Inc. (T.U.R.F.) nonprofit group’s efforts to rehabilitate the high school’s outdoor athletic facilities for the benefit of the entire community. At its October 2016 meeting, the School Committee toured the athletic facilities, saw first-hand the ravages of continual use on grass fields, and learned about the limitations the field/track/court conditions place on hard- working student-athletes. During the tour, the Committee also discussed how maintenance of the fields has been excellent, but that it has been over 15 years since the facilities have had any reconstruction or renovation.

“I was surprised to learn,” said Heather Burke, Marion representative to the School Committee, “that the gym classes are out here utilizing the fields all day. So, in addition to teams practicing on the fields from two in the afternoon to seven at night, kids are on them from eight in the morning until the sports teams start up. How is the grass ever supposed to recover?” Later during this tour, ORR staff noted that on the weekends the fields are used by Tri-Town youth and adult sports leagues.

At their January meeting, the ORR School Committee touched on how an overhaul of the outdoor athletic facilities could not be accommodated in the current school budget nor in any foreseeable budget. In a separate interview, Tina Rood, chairperson of the ORR School Committee commented, “The vast majority of our school budget goes towards sustaining the amazing programs we already have for our students. The Committee seems to recognize that the fields need an investment, but there isn’t room for it in current budgets.”

When asked about the fact that a group of local community members initiated the T.U.R.F. effort, Ms. Rood elaborated, “We are always happy when parents get involved with the school. It makes the school stronger. Whether it is running concessions at a drama production, following up with children on homework, helping with a fundraiser, or cheering at a game, having more families and community members participating here at the school is awesome. We, as a committee, look forward to learning more about what T.U.R.F. is proposing when they are ready to share it with us.”

The School Committee recommends that those who are interested in learning more about T.U.R.F. visit the organization’s website at orrturf.com or click on the T.U.R.F. button on the high school’s website.

More information about the ORR School Committee, including upcoming meeting dates, can be found at www.oldrochester.

Old Rochester School Committee

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.