After approving two contradictory ballot questions in November, Plymouth residents will revote later this month on the future of their town offices.
When voters hit the polls in November, they encountered two separate questions about the town hall. The first asked if they wanted to use an already approved $950,000 to partially complete a renovation. The second asked whether they wanted to approve an additional $800,000 to complete the project as originally planned.
Both articles passed, leaving residents and town officials scratching their heads.
“I don’t think there’s a person in town who understood what the question was or how to answer it,” Carol Goodwin, a Plymouth resident, said at a selectboard meeting later that month, asking for another chance to consider the renovation.
The selectboard ultimately concurred.
“I feel bad there was so much confusion, and I’m inclined to do a revote,” Rick Kaminski, a Plymouth Selectboard member, told those present.
Now, Plymouth residents will revisit the renovations’ future, returning to the polls Jan. 17.
Plymouth voters first approved the $950,000, drawn from existing town funds, in December 2021. The selectboard initially intended to break ground last spring, but supply chain issues and inflation led contractors to balk at committing to estimates for the project. By the time the town received a construction estimate, the original budget proved too small.
Reoccurring roof leaks, mold growth and a dying boiler sparked the need for a renovation. An architectural firm later determined that the building was using twice as much heating fuel as comparable buildings, and an update would likely result in energy cost savings.
The $950,000 would cover a roof replacement, heat pump installation and replacement of overhead doors, according to Kaminski. It would not fund an “energy envelope” weatherization system, or replacement of remaining windows and doors.
Those additional upgrades would be paid for with the $800,000 20-year bond, which would come with an interest rate in the ballpark of 3.9%, Kaminski told VTDigger. The bank has told him that bond rates, although subject to change, are “stable” at the moment.
Plymouth can expect to spend $60,000 toward paying off the bond in the first year, with decreasing payments afterward, Kaminski said. The town expects to save roughly $15,000 per year after weatherizing and renovating the building, and hopes to begin construction in the spring.
