Count me as one of the citizens who believes the upper floor of Town Hall should be left as open meeting space. Aside from preserving the historical architecture of the town, which should be a no-brainer in itself, this is a space that will find many users. After all, it had many users beyond town government before the ill-construed construction of the “temporary” office space that locked those users out for almost 30 years. It’s like “Field of Dreams”—if you restore it, they will come. For those who missed the many prior rounds of debate, here are some reasons why this space is unique:
- It is not prohibited from charging admission, unlike Volunteers Hall.
- It can hold at least 50 more persons than Volunteers Hall.
- It presents more flexible programming options than the sanctuaries of our downtown churches.
- It is not parasitic on the parish halls of those churches, paid for by their parishioners.
- Most importantly, it is a lovely space with the good vibes of more than 100 years of citizen participation.
We, as a town, would be squandering our past, should we allow this space to be lost in the abstract interest of consolidating offices, or in a stubborn rush to divest the town of other buildings.
Lastly, to the Board of Selectmen, and especially those members who have re-animated, zombie-like, this already settled issue: Please, let it go. The community has Town Hall Fatigue. Just let the thing be restored—you will like it when it’s done.
Marc Vilain
Oak Hill Road
