WALES – Voters here agree it may be time for a new town office.
At their annual town meeting Saturday, the people of Wales were asked if they would like town officials to explore the costs and possible locations for a new municipal building.
The current office on Center Road has become crammed as the town’s population continues to grow. Parking is also a problem.
Instead of going through the trouble of putting together plans for a new building only to have it turned down by voters, town officials decided to take a preliminary vote to see what everybody thought.
With an overwhelming majority, the group of about 90 people who attended the town meeting told officials to go ahead and begin the process.
A proposal for a new office could be presented to voters as early as next year, said Paul Burgess, chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
In addition to discussing the new building, townspeople approved several local ordinances changed to comply with the town’s new comprehensive plan. The subdivision, land use, wireless communication and road ordinances were all amended.
The school budget sparked the most discussion. But, in the end, it was approved as proposed at $1,808,387. The same was true for the road construction budget of $110,000 and the road maintenance budget of $193,273.
Townspeople re-elected Town Clerk Melanie Burgess and Selectman Randall Greenwood and filled several positions on the school and planning boards, the budget committee and the Board of Appeals. None of the races was contested.
“Everything went pretty much according to the warrant,” Burgess said.
Held at the Wales Central School, the meeting lasted about five hours.
Comments are no longer available on this story