Representatives from the Council on Aging (COA) and the Friends of the Council on Aging, which raises money for COA programs, asked the selectmen at their Aug. 9 meeting for support and direction on the second phase of the Hildreth House project. They didn’t get much. The selectmen did vote 3–2 to spend up to $4,000 from the Rantoul Trust for a new estimate for the project. A motion to support the project, however, was tabled on a 3–2 vote.
The COA and the Friends also asked the board to take a leadership role in promoting the construction of moderately priced homes on the Hildreth House property. Selectman Ron Ricci told the group that the board supports the housing concept and is taking steps to investigate its feasibility. The Planning Board has been asked to propose zoning changes that would allow such a development. The board is also looking into whether a developer might pay for all or part of the Phase 2 renovation.
The Hildreth House renovation was originally planned as a single project. It included safety and accessibility upgrades, as well as an expansion of the building for programs and events. But neither the selectmen, the Finance Committee, nor the Capital Planning and Investment Committee supported the $3.7 million requested to fund the project in 2013. A year later, the project was split into two phases, and the first phase is currently in progress. The Friends told the selectmen that the group would like to begin fundraising for Phase 2 of the project, but that it is reluctant to do so without the selectmen’s support.
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace, the board’s liaison to the Council on Aging, was behind the request for Phase 2 support. She said that when the project was split into two phases, the elementary school kindergarten wing project was not on the horizon, and she worried that voters will not be willing to pay for Phase 2 after being asked to pay for the kindergarten wing. She asked that the board fund a new estimate for Phase 2 so that the project can move ahead faster than the proposed fiscal 2021 date, and also that the selectmen vote to support Phase 2 so that fundraising can begin.
Board divided on money, support
Selectman Ron Ricci argued that both support and a new estimate would be premature. He said he would like to wait until Phase 1 was complete and then reevaluate the Phase 2 design. Chairman Ken Swanton said that at the selectmen’s strategic planning meeting, Wallace and Selectwoman Alice von Loesecke volunteered to do a survey of senior population needs and that he wanted to see the results of that survey before taking a position on Phase 2. Von Loesecke said that while she was not yet ready to vote on supporting Phase 2, she believed that a new estimate was needed if the town wanted a developer to fund the renovation.
Selectman Stu Sklar made a motion to fund a new estimate with up to $4,000 from the Rantoul Trust. Wallace seconded the motion, and it passed 3–2, with von Loesecke voting for the motion. Wallace then moved that the selectmen support Phase 2. Sklar seconded the motion, but Ricci moved to table it. Von Loesecke seconded Ricci’s motion, and it passed 3–2, with Wallace and Sklar voting against it. Wallace apologized to the COA and Friends representatives for her board’s lack of support as they left the meeting.
