Following months of debate, speculation, court decisions and heightened emotion, the issue of enlarging the Malta Community Center, at a cost of $6 million, will finally go to vote.
On Thursday, Dec. 13, from noon to 8 p.m., Malta residents will vote on the expansion of the David R. Meager Community Center. The expansion would also include a multi-purpose gymnasium not only for sports but for fitness, classes, dances, crafts fairs and emergency sheltering. The gym would be designed so that it could be divided up for several activities at once.
The proposed project would add a branch of the Round Lake Library and a multi-use gymnasium at a cost of $6.1 million, of which $2.7 million would be paid from current savings and $3.4 million would be borrowed.
One of the major areas of contention during town board meetings has been the question of whether taxpayers would in any way foot the bill for the project. For weeks, town officials have been sending out fliers, holding public information sessions, and putting up signs to get the word out that the cost of construction, operation and loan repayment would be funded from the town’s current annual operating budget.
The town can expand the community center without a town tax, because we have been saving money for many years, said Supervisor Paul Sausville.
`Every alternative and cost has been thoroughly evaluated. The conclusion of our consultants, comptroller and the town board is that the expansion is affordable without town property taxes. We’ve done our homework; there are no hidden costs here.`
Sausville said the five-year capital plan completed earlier this year shows that the entire costs, including debt reduction, operating and maintenance costs, can be funded from reserves, savings and income from dependable future revenue sources such as the sales tax and mortgage taxes.
In early October, a petition was circulated by residents calling for a public referendum to allow the board to spend the funds for the expansion project.
Nearly 450 town residents signed the petition calling for the vote, and on Oct. 15, during a special meeting, the town board wrestled with honoring the petition and putting the project to vote or moving ahead to avoid costly construction delays. In a split decision, the board voted to challenge the petition, which was later upheld as valid in Saratoga County court, forcing this week’s public referendum.
Town board members have said if the project isn’t approved, the delays will bring significant cost increases.
`The town could stand to pay as much as 10 percent more with every annual delay in the construction work, due to rising materials costs and missing the ideal times for outdoor work,` said council member Sue Nolen. `That could mean putting off the project until more funds can be added to the capital account from fees to new developers.`
Another tireless proponent of the plan is the town’s parks and recreation director, Audrey Ball, who has pointed out the lack of space at the center and its impact on the town’s ability to provide programming.
`There has been so much involved in the physical and financial planning for the expansion for the last three years, and it’s unfortunate that a great community project that should bring together this town still has politics come into play,` said Ball.
In promoting the project, the board also referred to numerous surveys of Malta residents in which a majority supported expanded town library services.
A report prepared by Malta’s Library Committee in the summer of 2006 concluded that the current library in the Village of Round Lake is not large enough to serve the growing needs of the entire town. The committee recommended both improvements to the Round Lake Library and construction of a new branch library.
Several members of the Round Lake Library board of trustees spoke at recent public hearings to ask the Malta board to increase its level of support for 2008. The library received $60,000 in support from the town of Malta in 2006, and requested $81,000 in 2008. The library board asked for an additional $6,000 for cleaning services and $32,000 for an architectural study.
Board members agreed that $32,000 for a study was too costly for the town to cover, but that a grant could likely be available for the project.
In its final version, the town budget included $15,000 more to the library’s annual support for 2008, for a total of $85,000.
The polls will be open Thursday, Dec. 13, from noon to 8 p.m. Malta residents will vote at Malta town hall; Round Lake Village residents will vote at the Round Lake village hall.“