The Town Council will hold four Listening Sessions to collect
comments from the public on the need for four major capital investments
facing the Town and to provide guidance to the Town Council in setting
priorities. Members of the School Committee and Jones Library Trustees
have assisted in development of the information for these sessions and
will be present at each session.
The Listening Sessions will be held on the following dates and times:
- Tuesday, December 3rd at 3:30 p.m. at Bangs Center Large Activity Room
- Tuesday, December 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at Crocker Farm Elementary School, Cafeteria
- Monday, December 9th at 3:00 p.m. at Fort River Elementary School, Cafeteria
- Monday, December 9th at 6:00 p.m. at Wildwood Elementary School, Cafeteria
The
Town has a clear need to make significant investments in four major
capital projects –elementary school(s) (Fort River Elementary School and
Wildwood Elementary School), Department of Public Works facility,
Fire/Emergency Medical Services headquarters, and the Jones Library.
These investments could happen through new construction, extensive
renovation, or addressing only major repairs.
These needs must
also be balanced with the ongoing capital needs of the day-to-day
operations of the Town, such as paving roads and replacing or adding
sidewalks, maintaining existing buildings, and replacing vehicles as
needed.
The goal of the Listening Sessions is to provide the Town
Council with insights and opinions from the community that will help
inform its planning for and funding significant investments in each of
the four capital projects.
The Listening Sessions will be
facilitated and structured to provide basic information to the public
and offer the opportunity for members of the public to participate in
small group discussions that will ensure wide, active participation of
all involved. The Town website will also have a dedicated place to view
the relevant materials and provide comments (coming soon).
The
Town Council and staff will be listening, taking notes, and giving
careful consideration to all comments. Please join your fellow residents
to helping to shape how these four investment decisions are made.