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Select Board goals discussion highlights facilities assessment and debate over prioritizing 44 Main Street for housing
Summary
Board members and staff tied annual Select Board goals to the Orleans 2050 comprehensive plan and reviewed a facilities assessment (about 63–64 facilities); a lengthy debate followed over whether to prioritize 44 Main Street for affordable housing now or await prioritization informed by the facilities list and funding constraints.
At a workshop discussion on board goals, staff and members emphasized linking the Select Board’s near‑term goals to the town’s Orleans 2050 comprehensive plan and to recent facilities-assessment data.
Staff member said the facilities-assessment inventory lists roughly "63 or 64 facilities" that will be used to prioritize capital needs. Members agreed the inventory should guide which projects are funded or advanced in the capital-improvement program.
The session turned into a substantive debate over affordable housing priorities after staff listed town-owned properties for potential uses, including the Gathering Cottages, Bay Ridge Lane and 44 Main Street. Committee member argued that 44 Main Street — already on the CIP — should be prioritized this year: "This is the year that we have it on the CIP. This is the year," the member said, urging the Select Board to give clearer direction to staff and to the Affordable Housing Trust.
Staff and other members cautioned that the facilities assessment and competing repair needs could shift priorities, and asked for clearer, measurable next steps so staff can determine feasibility and funding. Staff noted some projects require partnerships or state funding and emphasized the need for a clear board decision if members want staff to accelerate a specific project.
Members also discussed measurable goal-setting: several said goals should be brief and focused, with implementation left to staff and committees, and that each goal should include the next step or a timeline for evaluation.
No formal direction to prioritize 44 Main Street was adopted at the meeting; members asked staff for clearer analyses and for the Affordable Housing Trust to confirm readiness to advance projects before the board commits to re-prioritizing projects from the facilities list.
