Proposed Relocation of Town Hall Spurs Controversy

Author: Devin Zatorski

The debate over whether to relocate the Middlebury Municipal Building has splintered town residents into several competing factions, all offering different solutions to a problem that has dragged on for over eight years.

According to Town Planner Fred Dunnington, the issue has been fueled by "the frustration of the voters, who see the current building as less than attractive and honorable." Some residents advocate relocating the municipal building, which houses town government offices, to the Maple Manor Motel site off Court Street, while others support renovating the existing structure, which needs cosmetic improvements and a new roof.

Debate largely centers on Middlebury College's offer to underwrite up to $3 million of the cost of constructing a new town hall in exchange for the land where the aging structure now stands. While the College is wary of being perceived as driving the decision-making process, it has repeatedly expressed interest in converting the current town hall lot into a park, thereby creating a more welcoming approach to campus.

Last month, in preparation for the March 4 Town Meeting, Middlebury resident Gerard Trudeau circulated a citizen's petition directing the Town Board of Selectmen to negotiate a deal with the College.

The Trudeau petition called for the College to provide $3 million toward the construction of a new town hall on the College-owned Maple Manor Motel property, near the Vermont State Liquor Outlet, in exchange for the current municipal building plot, which would be torn down to create a park extending from the intersection of College and South Main Streets to Twilight Hall.

Trudeau, a former owner of the Maple Manor Motel, told The Addison Independent that he was simply trying to promote progress. "We've been flogging this thing verbally for months and years," he said. After garnering over 700 signatures, Trudeau's petition landed on the advisory town warning ballot, subject to public vote at the annual Town Meeting.

Dunnington said that there is significant division even within the group supporting the Maple Manor site. Some genuinely support relocating the town hall to Maple Manor, but others advocate Trudeau's proposal simply because they are frustrated by the sluggish progress made in recent years. "Still others support it simply because they want to get as much money from the College as possible," Dunnington said.

Such division leads to a "less stable and predictable means of community planning," according to Dunnington. Chair of the Board of Selectmen John Tenny agreed, saying that the March 4 vote was unlikely to yield any definitive direction.

Director of Public Affairs Phil Benoit declined comment on Trudeau's proposal, saying the College "has no business making that decision for [the town]." Until the Selectmen author a formal proposal, he said, the College would take no official stance.

Dunnington commented, "Publicly, the College does not want to be seen as driving the decision, but privately they have been open to discussing this."

In response to Trudeau's proposal, Weybridge resident Bill Roper authored a petition suggesting that the municipal building remain in downtown Middlebury. His one-sentence petition reads, "We, the undersigned residents of the town of Middlebury, strongly urge the Middlebury Board of Selectmen to locate the town offices in downtown Middlebury to ensure preservation of the town's economic, social and cultural integrity."

In an interview with The Middlebury Campus, Roper said Maple Manor "is part of the strip development part of Middlebury," which includes the A&P Supermarket and Ames Department Store.

He fears that locating the own hall at Maple Manor would serve as a "catalyst for additional growth" in that area, which the town plan stipulates should be a satellite community, not a community center. "The seat of town government should remain in the historically significant part of the community," Roper maintained.

Roper said he wished the College would consider financing the renovation of the current municipal building to create a "stately entrance" to campus instead of "ruling that out of the picture." He continued, "The College offer was generous but it was presented in such a way that it is coming back to haunt them. I wouldn't be surprised if the College wished it had never made the offer."

He characterized Maple Manor as a "gateway to the town" and the current municipal building property it as a "gateway to the College," saying that he "wished the College considered both equally important."

While Roper's petition missed the Jan. 25 deadline for inclusion on the Town Meeting ballot, Tenny said "[Roper and his supporters] simply want to make a show of force for the opposition view," touting the municipal building as a symbol of downtown Middlebury.

Dunnington said the town hall controversy is "an issue of competing individual visions," a complex web of viewpoints that have to be reconciled through public process.

"I don't mean to suggest that there is something nefarious about it," said Dunnington, "but the College's proposal definitely has the town in division."

After the advisory vote on Trudeau's petition on March 4, Tenny said the Board of Selectmen plans to formulate a proposal to put to a final public vote on general election day on Nov. 7.