Templeton committee closes Grange Hall lift project and forwards $20,000 for kitchen rehab

The Templeton Community Preservation Committee voted to close out the Grange Hall lift project after the town’s final state inspection and to forward a separate $20,000 article for kitchen rehabilitation at Grange Hall.

During the administrative update, the chair said she had received word from Brian Tangway that the Grange Hall lift project has been completed and that the town is awaiting a state reimbursement check. Committee staff recommended holding off any formal revert of funds to the undesignated balance until the reimbursement arrives. The committee later voted to close the project account that had a small remaining balance and revert that balance to the undesignated CPA fund.

Separately, the committee reviewed a $20,000 request for kitchen work that would install plumbing for sinks, restore and refinish first-floor floors and the front stairway, and otherwise ready the Grange Hall kitchen for community use. Committee members discussed community access and parking and noted the building has received previous CPA funding for upper-floor rehabilitation, ADA-compliant bathrooms, a ramp and a lift. One committee member expressed concern that $20,000 is a modest amount for a kitchen renovation; another noted the funding is a reasonable next step in a long, volunteer-driven rehabilitation process.

The committee approved forwarding $20,000 for the Grange Hall kitchen rehabilitation from the historic resources CPA fund. The motion passed with one abstention: Dennis (abstain); George yes; Joanne yes; Carrie yes. The committee identified Narragansett Historical Society (listed in the project sheet) as the project sponsor for accounting and administration purposes and instructed staff to draft warrant language that limits reimbursement to work eligible under CPA rules and to require grantee documentation of bids and invoices before payment.