College Agrees to Fund Local Projects

This past June, the College revealed its new joint initiative with the town of Middlebury to fund the building of a new town recreation facility, as well as a new town hall.

The project altogether is estimated to cost $7.5 million. The College will contribute $5.5 million, and the town of Middlebury will cover the remaining $2 million.

The existing town hall and gymnasium will both be demolished. The 8,000- to 9,000-sqaure-foot new town hall will be located at 77 Main Street, next to the Ilsey Public Library and where the Osborne House currently stands. The new recreation center will include a gymnasium and will be constructed at Memorial Sports Center off Mary Hogan Drive.

The construction of a new triangular public park and green space owned by the College is also included in the initiative, and is set to be located where the town center and gymnasium currently stand. Additionally, Osborne House will be relocated to the corner of Cross and Water streets. Previously, the town of Middlebury owned this vacant property, but the land will now belong to the College.

For the town of Middlebury, the initiative marks the culmination of a 10-year struggle to fix the town hall and gymnasium due to deterioration and the lack of energy efficiency.

When they realized a $10 million plan would probably not gain tax payers’ support, and fundraising through state and federal grants were not a feasible option, Selectman Victor Nuovo, chairman of the Town Center Steering Committee and a professor emeritus of philosophy at the College, along with Selectboard Chairman Dean George approached the College asking for financial assistance.

Such assistance to the town on behalf of the College is not unusual. In fact, the College recently signed on to funding $9 million out of the $16 million going towards the construction of the new Cross Street Bridge.

These projects are illustrative of the “fair-share” agreement that requires the College to provide funding to projects that might raise local high taxes. The College recognizes this as its responsibility due to the impact that it may have on some of the town’s services.

A news release on behalf of President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz expressed excitement regarding this new project.

“I’m delighted to see how the town and college have been able to come together to find ways to improve the vitality of our downtown,” he said. “This is a partnership that I believe can stand as a model for any college community.”

Despite Liebowitz’s enthusiasm, the project was not met with optimism from all town members.

At a public hearing in the town of Middlebury in July, more than a dozen people spoke against the construction of new town offices and a public gymnasium. According to The Addison Independent, Middlebury resident Victoria DeWind expressed concern over the concept that the land on which the current town hall is built will be handed over to the College.

“This is such an opportunity for the town; why do we give it away for a park? We don’t need another park to meet our different needs,” DeWind said at the public forum.
Resident Barbara Tomb expressed some disappointment in the College’s role in the process as well.

“If the College is part of the community, I guess I’d kind of like to see them step up and go ahead and contribute without needing to get something necessarily in return for it, other than appreciation and being a good neighbor,” she said.

Other concerns expressed by town members included the crowding of the already tightly packed Ilsey Library, and the lack of available parking where the municipal center will be built.
Not all those present were against the project. Some town members expressed optimism that this project will solve issues that have been present in the community for years.

To date, the exact details of the plan have not been sorted out, but Selectboard Chairman Dean George promised to keep the town members posted.

“We’re not trying to be closed-doors about this and we aren’t rushing this,” Geoge told The Addison Indapendent.