Townsend board forms ad hoc committees to consider restoration of West Towns meeting room and Heart Library

The Townsend Select Board voted June 2 to create two five-member ad hoc committees to study restoration and future use of the West Towns meeting room and the Heart Library, with each committee to include one representative from the Historical Commission.

Karen, the town administrator, presented draft mission statements and legal considerations, and board members discussed funding sources, insurance questions and building systems. Board members said trust-fund money exists for the reading room and that a Title V septic inspection — estimated to cost under $1,000 — should be completed before the town resumes routine rentals.

"We'll have an ad hoc committee for the West Towns meeting room to consist of five members as discussed with edits to the mission statement and reviewed by town council," a board member moved; the motion was seconded and approved on a roll-call vote. The board also approved a five-member Heart Library ad hoc committee with a requirement that one member be from the Historical Commission.

Members discussed whether to combine the two efforts; the consensus was to keep them distinct because the Heart Library and the West Towns room have different funding streams, maintenance needs and legal histories. The West Towns room will require insurance and facilities checks before being rented again; the board asked that volunteers aim to return a plan for town meeting consideration within approximately a year.

Next steps: town staff will post the committees and their charge publicly after town-council review; the committees may apply for grants but any grant applications for town-owned property must be submitted by a town employee or designee.