What’s Next?

In June 2024, the Town voters were asked to approve a $16.5 million bond for the construction of a new Municipal Complex that would house the Town Office, Police Station, and Fire Station.  The voters did not approve this.

So, what is next?  The need for improved facilities has not gone away.  The Select Board and Building Committee each met and discussed what should happen next.  A decision was made to hold a public workshop to try to get specific feedback on why voters rejected the bond.  That was held on July 24th and there were approximately 30 people in attendance.

At the meeting, we heard some thoughts that we need to share more spaces and cut the building size down.  There were questions about the need of some of the specific features of the conceptual building design.  There were many comments about the impact to the tax payers. There was talk about investigating other properties in town to retro-fit.  It was suggested that we only proceed with the construction of a public safety building and don’t include the Town Office in the plans.  As expected, and hoped for, this meeting gave the Select Board and Building Committee a lot to think about.

The Select Board and Building Committee each reconvened and ultimately a decision was made to proceed with the original plan to construct a Municipal Complex on Bridgton Road.  There were a multitude of reasons for this decision.  With that being said, our next steps were as follows:

·         We worked with the architects to reduce the overall building size, while still ensuring that the complex meets the needs of each department, both space wise and compliance-wise. This will serve to reduce the overall cost.

·         We reviewed the latest bond rates and have worked towards a warrant article that will ask voters to approve a bond total that factors in money we hope to receive from Congressionally Directed Spending and from other sources (grants, donations, potential fundraising, credit reserve funds, etc.) and reduces the overall bond.  In June, we asked voters to approve the full building cost of $16.5 million despite the hope that we would get $5 million in CDS funds.  This time we will ask for $8.5 million (the building cost, less the target amount of grants). This means that if we don’t get the grant money then we will not proceed with the project as proposed.

·         We designed this new website to make it easier for residents to get specific and accurate information.

·         We are investigating other avenues of getting information out to the residents and voters.

·        There will be a Public Hearing/Informational Session on October 15th, at 6:00 p.m. at the David & Doris Hastings Community Center. Please refer to the Public Hearing Notice linked here.

·         We will be voting on the revised bond question to allow the construction of a new Municipal Complex, via ballot, on November 5th. Please refer to the Special Town Meeting Warrant linked here.

We are excited to be moving forward with this vital project in a manner that works to balance compromise and understanding of the residents concerns with the needs of our essential town services.

For more information, please reach out to townmanager@fryeburgmaine.org and check our website and social media for upcoming public meetings.