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Wickham Hall volunteers ask selectboard to clarify stewardship, rental rules and use of trust funds
Summary
Volunteer members introducing themselves as the Whitcomb/Wickham Hall and Pete Johnson Memorial committees told the Selectboard they want to merge and coordinate upkeep, asked about using roughly $26,000 in trust funds for maintenance and proposed working with DPW on improvements and a caretaker plan.
Volunteer stewards of Wickham Hall introduced themselves to the Selectboard and asked the town to clarify how the committees and town would share responsibility for maintenance, rentals and restricted funds.
"I'm Sharon Greatbatch," the committee chair said, and she identified Mike Gamarlow as chairman of the Whitcomb/Wickham Hall Committee. Greatbatch said the groups helped raise money for the hall’s renovations and continue to support seasonal plantings, Christmas decorations and Memorial Day flowers, and that the Pete Johnson Memorial Committee has donated funds that the groups may want to pool for future projects. She said the beautification trust currently holds about $26,000.
Committee members described recurring maintenance needs and safety-related fixes in the kitchen and building envelope — slow dishwasher cycles, thermostat/venting problems that left the kitchen at about 34 degrees at one point, ice falling from roof eaves, and a five-year inspection cycle for the kitchen’s fire-suppression system. The group asked whether planned alterations could jeopardize prior grant or stewardship agreements with LCHIP and requested that the town consult the grant administrator before approving any hardscape or permanent fixtures.
Board members and committee members also discussed rental logistics: current requirements include a minimum three-hour rental block and insurance (the town’s insurer, referenced as Primax in the meeting), and some residents said that insurance and minimum-hour rules discourage small, short meetings. The committee asked the board to consider whether certain low-risk uses could have insurance requirements waived or reduced in specific instances.
The board asked the committee to meet with a selectboard member to develop a formal recommendation on merging the two committees, a proposed committee name, recommended rental rates, an inventory of tables and kitchen items, and a plan for caretaker coverage. Staff said an internal candidate would serve as a temporary caretaker starting in about a month while a permanent arrangement is worked out. The committee agreed to return with recommendations within roughly a month so the board could review suggested changes to policy and the voter guide wording ahead of Town Meeting.
