Voters gave the go-ahead Thursday, Dec.14, for town of Malta officials to enlarge the David R. Meager Community Center at a cost of $6 million.
The affirmative vote came after months of debate, delays and
questions about the board’s ability as elected officials to allocate funds already set aside for this project.
The expansion will include a multi-purpose gymnasium for sports but for fitness, classes, dances, crafts fairs and emergency sheltering, and a gym designed to be divided up for several activities at once. The project will 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.
Despite a winter storm that blanketed the town with several inches of snow throughout Thursday afternoon and into the evening, 587 residents trudged out to vote between noon and 8 p.m. at Malta Town Hall. Vote tallies showed 56 percent approved the expansion, representing 329 votes for the project and 258 opposing it.
The weather was poor, and there could have been a larger turnout, but in the end, the result was the same, that a majority of people support this project, said Supervisor Paul Sausville. `In fact, there was a better turnout for this than there was for the firemen’s vote Tuesday.`
In a special vote at the Malta Town Hall held Tuesday, Dec. 12, just fewer than 350 Malta residents showed up to vote on a measure to add incentives for volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps crews in the town and the Village of Round Lake. That proposal also passed, with 281 Malta voters approving it, and 68 voters turning it down.
`It’s been a good week for the town of Malta,` said Sausville.
Town residents and business owners crowded board meetings in recent months to question whether taxpayers would in any way foot the bill for the project. Board members made it clear the cost of construction, operation and loan repayment would be funded from the town’s current annual operating budget, without any increase in taxes.
Sausville pointed out the town’s recently updated five-year capital plan stipulates 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 sales tax and mortgage taxes.
The project hit another snag when a petition was circulated earlier this fall by residents calling for the public referendum to allow the board to spend the funds for the expansion project. Nearly 450 town residents signed the petition, which the board then challenged, sending it to county courts for a decision. The courts, however, required the board to honor the public request for a vote, and town attorneys scrambled to set up the vote in compliance with stringent special referendum laws.
Town board members continuously stressed if the project wasn’t approved, the delays would bring significant cost increases, estimated at as much as 10 percent more for the rising materials costs and missing the ideal season for outdoor work.
Audrey Ball, the town’s parks and recreation director, patiently promoted the project for months, urging residents to look at the facts and figures rather than turning the issue into a political tug-of-war by questioning the board’s authority.
Thursday morning, Ball said the vote was not only a sign of support for the project, but also a show of support for elected officials.
`It’s good to see the community has faith in the town government,` said Ball.
Ball said she had her fingers crossed throughout the stormy day Thursday, and was prepared for the outcome to go the other way.
`I was surprised it passed, because these kinds of special votes are very hard, it’s a tough time of year, and then there was the weather all working against us,` said Ball. `I really thank everyone who went out to vote. For us, now the real work begins, but this is the fun part.`
Sausville said project design will be next on the docket, with the expansion likely to go out to bid later this winter, and bid openings in the spring.
`We’ll have groundbreaking this summer, and look forward to ribbon-cutting by late spring, 2009,` said Sausville.
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