Eight Voter Margin Said No to Town Hall

by Amy Kolb Noyes

By a margin of just eight votes, Morristown voters turned down a
combined library renovation and town hall construction project. On Town
Meeting Day in March, voters approved a $2.8 million bond issue for the
project by a vote of 513 to 444. Residents against the project filed a
petition forcing a re-vote. The second vote, held Tuesday, May 18, went
down 420 to 428.
Morristown Zoning Administrator Mark Leonard said Wednesday morning, May
19, the town will need to regroup and decide where to go from here.
"The needs haven't changed," said Leonard. "Whether and how and when
we're moving forward - we'll have to sit down and discuss that."
Leonard commented first the town will have to determine if it must
change the project before bringing the issue back before the voters. If
so, the options include attempting to trim costs from the current
proposal or coming up with a different town hall project at an
alternative site.
"That seems to be what the people who voted against the bond wanted,"
said Leonard, "more choices and less cost."
Leonard added, "There were questions and there were concerns and they'll
have to be addressed." He said he hopes the people who expressed
concerns will be involved in bringing the next proposal forth to the voters.
"They've afforded themselves the opportunity to take part in the
process," said Leonard. "I hope they take advantage of that."
Richard "Buckwheat" Lowe, who submitted the revote petition to the town,
said he and his group, CREST, are pleased with the result of the vote.
"The bottom line is we're very happy," said Lowe. He said CREST is
willing to work with the town to come up with a more affordable town
hall project. He added, "It's way too much money for the Town of
Morristown to spend."
Lowe said there are other sites in town to consider for the new town
offices. He said CREST does not support co-locating the project with the
library addition.
"We're not against the library, we've made that very clear," said Lowe.
He said he would support the library addition if it were a stand-alone
project as originally planned.
Library trustees are also going to have to consider the situation,
consult with town officials and have yet to decide if they will go back
to the voters and ask for support for just the library addition.