Town Of Dover: Community Center Building Committee Weekly Update May 28, 2021

Press release from the Town of Dover:

May 30, 2021

Your Community Center Weekly Update - May 28th

Dear all,

These updates will help inform you and help you to share information with friends and neighbors - they will include all recent updates that you should know and information in a form that is easy to share. Our one goal is to get as many people to the Special Town Meeting as possible so that this decision is made by a good representation of the town, AND that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision. 

Please do one thing to help this project and forward this update to as many people as you can, even if it’s just 5 of your friends here in Dover and ask them to share with 5 of their friends….word will soon get around. Thank you!! 

Please let me know if you’d like anything else to help you share the information, or if you have any questions or want specific information. You can email me on this email address or at carylfeedback@doverma.gov

Dates for your diary!

Firstly, and most importantly, the date of the Special Town Meeting… I will be reminding you of this date right up until June 12th itself probably. ;-) The Special Town Meeting is when we will be asked to vote on which design, we prefer, and the funding, I REALLY hope we’ll see you there.

Saturday June 12th at 10am - Special Town Meeting (when we will vote on the designs and the funding)

Monday June 21st (all day) - Town Election (to vote on the funding).

Next and Final Public Forum – Wednesday June 2nd at 7pm on Zoom

Join us at our next and final Public Forum before the Special Town Meeting and tell everyone who is coming to the Special Town Meeting to join us too. This will be an excellent opportunity to find out everything you need to know for the Special Town Meeting.

Wednesday June 2nd at 7pm on Zoomhttps://zoom.us/j/99766112205?pwd=ZmRuUGtzbmJnMHk3enl4M3Z4QStmZz09Meeting ID: 997 6611 2205Passcode: 189294One tap mobile+13017158592,,99766112205#Dial by your location+1 301 715 8592

Finance Plan – Important Update

On May 26 the Board of Selectmen voted to recommend funding the $18mm cost to fund either the Renovation of the 1910 Building + Additions OR the New Building option by a combination of approximately $4mm of cash reserves contributed to the plan over a 12-year period to both smooth and reduce the overall annual impact to Dover taxpayers of the project borrowing costs.  Assuming Article 3 passes the special Town Meeting on June 12 a property valued at $1.25mm would have an annual increase of $53.

 ‘What do you need to know before you vote’

Is there a burning question that you have, something that you have heard lots of people asking about this project? Let me know and I will feature it with a full answer on our Facebook and here in the weekly update to make sure that everyone has the information they need to be able to vote on Saturday June 12th.

Here is this week’s question and answer:

What you need to know before you vote……(Facebook - May 27)

What if we don’t get enough votes for either design or for the funding?

• Parks and Rec and Council on Aging both need space for offices and programs as well as all the other groups that use the Community Center. The building needs a number of crucial and basic repairs so that we can keep the doors open and the groups can continue to use the space.
•  The Building Committee recommends both the Renovation of 1910 Building + New Additions and the New Building options for your consideration. The choice is yours!
• There is NO “No Cost Option".  The current community center requires a minimum of approximately $6 - $8 Million to bring it up to code and fix the known issues (This does not enhance the activity spaces. The work is remediation, repair and replacement.) If you haven't been in the community center, take a look at the On-Site Insight Report. August 21, 2019.  Caryl Conditions Report 2019

Have you seen the new signs in front of the Caryl Community Center?

If you’re in the center of Dover, check them out or take a field trip in between the rain this weekend to see them.

Help to spread the word

It’s so easy to help us spread the word so that we can have a vote that represents as many of the Town as possible. Here are some ways….

Don’t forget to:

Talk to your friends and neighbors about it.

Direct them to the Dover MA website for more information. https://www.doverma.gov/452/Community-Center-Building-Committee

Ask your friends and neighbors to add themselves to the ‘Notify Me’ system on the Dover MA website so they will get all the most up to date information. Here is the link  https://www.doverma.gov/list.aspx or you can go to the Dover MA home page and look for the ‘Notify Me‘ icon under the top banner photo.

Share this email and the summary attached and any other information you see with your friends, neighbors and associates here in Dover. Even if you think they may already have got it, don’t assume (you know what it does! ;-)) send it on and help spread the word.

Encourage everyone to come to the Special Town Meeting and then vote for the funding at the Town Election (if we get through the Special Town Meeting that is.

Resources

Public Forum of May 12

In case you missed the forum, we did record it, here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSOqClSFJT0&list=PLpsIGT_5qyBbTtIT3Hy5wCfh9wbq0nHfL&index=18

Presentation from the May 12 Public Forum

Here is a copy of the presentation from the Forum.

https://www.doverma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1584/Project-Update--2021-Community-Center-Public-Forum-May-12

COMING SOON

• One Page summary of information on both designs and cost
• Frequently Asked Question document

Thank you everyone for your help spreading the word and for your interest in this project!

Ruth Townsend

Building Committee member

carylfeedback@doverma.gov

Additional Info...

This press release was produced by the Town of Dover. The views expressed are the author's own.