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FARMINGTON – County commissioners met with department heads and planners today, in their first meeting following the Nov. 2 county facilities bond question vote, which Franklin County residents rejected by a wide margin.
The question asked residents of Franklin County if they wanted to approve a $4.465 million bond. That money would have been used to purchase Church Street Commons in Farmington, in order to make space for some county functions, as well to improve the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department office in the Fairbanks area of Farmington. The project, a product of two years of committee meetings, public input and numerous rejected plans and proposals, was designed to address heath, space, safety and access concerns at the aging courthouse, which have been raised by members of the public, county employees and the state Fire Marshal’s Office.
On Nov. 2, voters declined to support the question by a vote of 4,876 in favor and 7,781 in opposition. It lost in every Franklin County community, even Farmington, and often by margins of 2:1 or more.
Tuesday, county officials and planners agreed that voters had spoken on the issue. However, the problems the project was designed to address remain, according to employees of the county.
“We may wish the outcome of the referendum had been different,” consultant John Cleveland, who’s firm has been working with Smith Reuter Lull Architects on the project, “but it wasn’t, so now we need to see where to go.”
Another bond question would be unlikely to gain the support of the public, Cleveland said. Furthermore, the more optimal interest rates are no longer available, and the county would have to wait for the next statewide referendum to even attempt a vote.
Some of the more pressing issues may not wait that long. The state Fire Marshal’s Office had made it clear, county officials have said, that immediate action was needed to address a series of issues at the Franklin County Courthouse building, and further communications from that office are expected following the Nov. 2 vote.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson, representing the District Attorney’s Office, said that the county was obliged by statute to provide acceptable workspace for their personnel. While they had worked with the building committee in the past, Robinson noted, and intended to work with the county in the future, they had at no point considered their current workspace acceptable.
DA personnel in the courthouse basement have expressed ongoing health concerns regarding the lack of ventilation and mold build up in their basement offices, caused by the outdated design and drainage issues.
“This is important,” Robinson told commissioners. “It is not acceptable that people remain down there.”
Commissioners believe that the county’s first priority remains the dispatch office at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department’s overcrowded office building, which lacks containment. The entire facilities project, Commissioner Fred Hardy of New Sharon said, had begun as an attempt to address that issue.
Cleveland offered to meet with department heads and architects, seeking some alternative proposals that would at least address some of the more time-sensitive issues temporarily. He noted that the county’s funding options were limited to the actual Franklin County budget and the up to $50,000 that could be borrowed with no vote. Cleveland said he was willing to possibly work pro bono to help tie up the loose ends of the county facility project.
“We feel we owe you a commitment,” he told commissioners. Stephanie Lull, of Smith Reuter Lull, said her firm would be in contact with the county to see what could be arranged.
The scope of this second project would be greatly reduced, in terms of funding and time. Cleveland said he’d like to see a list of options developed within 60 days.
Commissioners supported the proposal, saying that several of the problems still needed to be addressed, despite the vote. The committee may, once again, consider space available in the Franklin County Jail, as well as the possibility of leasing space elsewhere in the county. The strategy of the county, Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay said, would have to shift from a do-everything approach to one which addressed the needs of departments one at a time.
“How do you eat an elephant?” McGrane said. “One bite at a time. We have a big elephant here, and I think the general public has said, ‘you’ve got to go one bite at a time.'”
In the interim, Robinson said that the DA’s Office would begin looking for space to lease, in addition to sending a representative to the committee, and bring that research into the discussion.
While the promotion of this project could have been done better, the voters failed to consider that it will now cost them more in the long run, and the workers affected by lack of space and a safe environment will continue to lose productivity and any feeling that they provide valuable services to the residents of the county. Woe to the next complainer.
Think the 4.5 million may have been a little humongous. What the heck we buying and making. Our economy sucks. If my income sucked do you think I would go take a huge loan and buy a new house. Don’t think so. It was nice to see the $0 debt on the ballot though. Made me vote no all the more. I love to see that. Way to go no debt is awesome. Just ask Dave Ramsey.
I have 12,000 sq ft of brand new facility. All handicap accessible, fully sprinkled, radiant heat in concrete on both floors. Centrally located to population of Franklin county. Available for about 12% of the failed bond issue. Yes, it might be inconvenient for some downtown attorneys in Farmington, but much handier for the southern population of the county. Crunch the numbers; we’ve all had to suck it up a bit and the county shouldn’t be excluded. We couldn’t get medical marijuana in there so the next obvious choice would be some politicians.
Well put and very true. It is to bad it wasn’t past.
admin posting for Hutch:
Tell them to work from home (telecommute) (gotomypc.com) we are broke, no more money!
“lack of space and a safe environment” what a Joke
admin posting for Concerned Citizen:
So, if it’s such dangerous working conditions, what the heck have they been doing for the past several years? There’s tons of rental spaces…..I’ve seen dozens of buildings go up in Farmington and surrounding areas for $80-100k if they need more space….$5+ million (with interest)?
Are all of your options to build multi million dollar facilities and try to sneak it in to get voter approval? Do these “better than the average Mainer in Franklin County” people on the board think we’re stupid? Get some cheaper temporary options to solve your so called immediate dangers and let’s get the economy (local economy as well) back on track and keep our darn taxes as low as possible! Put some single wide trailers up for crying out loud! But to have us foot a loan for $5+ million……it’s almost you guys/gals have a credit card with an unlimited balance and want us taxpayers to fund it!
admin posting for Think about it:
First off the county did not do the research correctly. 5 Million dollars for just cleaning off an old “turd” is outrageous. Now on the other hand something needs to be done. And Dispatch DOES need a secure facility, BOTTOM LINE. And anyone who says they don’t is crazy. The first thing an attacker wants to do is knock out communication and cause chaos. I am not saying they have eminent threat; but preparing is better than having the old, ” Sh*t why didn’t we do that”. Now on the other, other hand, a lack in prior pre-planning has led to this and an inattention to listen attitude. Not putting all blame on the County Government; some but not all. Most would be the organization heads themselves. Seems like a country club type atmosphere where not much care is put into the organization.
admin posting for Concerned Citizen:
I agree that something needs to be done……but it has to be fiscally possible and in the best interest of the people.
Like I said before, what the heck have we been doing lately if it’s so dangerous and much NEEDED? Have we been in a state of flux for the past several years? And if so, why can’t we hang on for a few more until we can afford to do something about it? Why aren’t they doing smaller and less expensive options to get them out of this so called danger zone they’re in? How come none of these questions ever get answered. It’s $5 million or bust!
People of this county and in Maine in general are doing their part to “get by” so to speak in tough times….hell, in normal times in Maine as we’ve never really been considered a wealthy state and Franklin County a wealthy community! Why can’t local government work it out to “get by” instead of charging that gold platinum credit card of theirs that they don’t have to pay back, directly anyways…..we have to pay it back. I bet the people making these ballot decisions and $5 million dollar proposals are doing much better than the average citizen in Franklin County who is struggling to get by. I would bet a lot of money that these people don’t have to make the same decisions that the average citizen has to make daily such as struggling to fill the oil tank in the winter, or get the vehicle fixed, or maintenance on the house, or being able to stay on top of paying for their property taxes, etc.
The average citizen in Franklin County NEEDS THINGS TOO…..THAT IS BOTTOM LINE. JUST CAUSE THEY NEED IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY GET IT OR FIND IRRESPONSIBLE WAYS TO TRY TO GET IT! They don’t go out and get a loan for these things….they get it done somehow, some way within their means and so should our local governments. We can’t print money like the feds and we can’t spread the cost out among friends like our local govt.