The campaign has begun for a yes vote on Monday, Nov. 16, to complete the funding formula for the new Dalton Senior Center.
"We've been working on this for at least 10 years aiming to get a place where we can do more programs," said Marjory Limburg, president of the Dalton Friends of the Council on Aging. "We've been raising money for years thinking someday we'll have a senior center."
The special election is to seek approval of voters to exclude $512,000 in bond debt from the proposition 2 1/2 tax rate formula.
The money was approved during a special town meeting in September to augment $770,000 already set aside to build a new senior center.
During the special town meeting at Wahconah Regional High School, 314 voters supported the spending of an additional $512,000 for building a new $1.28 million senior center behind the old Dalton High School.
The annual increase in the tax rate to pay for the project would be about $51 per year for five years for a home with the average assessed value of $214,000. After five years, that increase would drop to about $11 per year for ongoing operation of the center.
The need for a Dalton senior center has been the matter of sometimes contentious debate for about 12 years. In the final step to free up the funds, if the debt exclusion is approved by a majority of the voters on Nov. 16, the senior center
"It all hinges on whether the voters approve the money," Limburg said.
She said 35 of the group's volunteers have been putting up 100 yard signs, stuffing envelopes with the fact sheets and sending them out to local voters.
Limburg noted that volunteer professionals, such as roofers, painters or carpenters, are being sought to augment the work and save money on the overall cost.
"We're really hoping we won't need all that money," she noted. "And Dalton is a real volunteer town."
John Boyle, Dalton select board chairman, is optimistic that with volunteers, they may be able to save money.
"We are hopeful that by encouraging volunteer help and additional fund raising by various groups to help furnish the building, we hope to bring the project in under budget," he said. "I am optimistic that we could build it for considerably less."
Boyle noted that they hope to have a final design set in early winter, put out to bid after that, and be ready to start work in early spring, with an opening in mid-summer 2010.
"That would be the optimistic goal," he said. Susan Jacobs, executive director of the Dalton Council on Aging, said she has heard many supportive comments about the special election, and has not seen any organized opposition so far.
"I know that people who don't support it will speak with their vote on election day," she said. "That's why it's so important that that we get a good turnout."
Jacobs added that the center will be the setting for many activities that benefit a wide variety of age groups in town.
"It will truly be a facility for everyone," she said. "And we're all aging, so if someone doesn't need a senior center right now, they or someone in their family will need it someday soon."
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