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Residents press to save West Towns Reading Room and Heart Library; meeting limits property sales
Summary
After prolonged public testimony from preservationists and neighbors, the town removed several historic parcels — including the West Towns Reading Room and the Heart Library — from a list of properties proposed for disposition and agreed to further study repair and funding options.
A heated exchange at Townsend’s May 5 town meeting left the future of several municipal properties unresolved but yielded immediate procedural limits on sales: the meeting voted to remove the West Towns Reading Room (264 Dudley Road), the Heart Library (276 Main Street) and an adjoining Elm Street parcel from a disposition list and directed additional study of repair needs and funding options.
Select-board presenters said deferred maintenance and septic failures make repairs expensive; the board estimated exploratory septic work at $5,000–$8,000 and suggested full rehabilitation could reach six figures. “The town does not have the financial abilities to oversee that septic maintenance and deferred maintenance,” a select-board speaker said while urging the legislative body for guidance.
Speakers from West Townsend and preservation advocates urged a different approach: Julia Stockwell reminded the meeting that the reading room was donated to the town (noting the original bequest year) and asked the town to pursue grants and Community Preservation Act funds rather than immediate sale. Architect and historic-preservation specialist Elizabeth Donison urged a full building assessment and reuse study, saying, “These buildings deserve a full assessment, a reuse study, and a public process.”
Residents and advocates suggested practical next steps: use available CPA funds or one-stop grant opportunities, convene a Friends group to manage stewardship, or commission an engineering and septic feasibility study before any transfer or sale. After a set of floor amendments to the original disposition list, the meeting voted to remove the three historic parcels from the list and approved declaring other, less-sensitive parcels available for disposition.
