Randolph Will Hold
Special Town Meeting
By Pamala Yerrington

A special Randolph Town Meeting will be held Dec. 11 by Australian ballot to vote on two items—extra money for the White River Valley Ambulance, and a possible alternative for the Municipal Building.

The meeting was set by the selectboard in its meeting Monday evening this week.

Selectman Larry Townsend reported that the budget committee had a neutral stance regarding the Ambulance’s request for a special appropriation funding of $35,000.

Randolph is the only town in the Ambulance district that did not provide all the funds the Ambulance asked for in last year’s budget, and the service, which has reorganized its management, has asked for the $35,000 to tide it over to next year.

Town Manager Peter Butterfield stated that in his understanding the committee was impressed with the progress made by the new board at WRVA and the ongoing quality of the WRVA staff.

However, he noted that appropriating new money must be done through direct approval by the voters, as these monies had not been previously budgeted.

Townsend asked whether this appropriation request should be best addressed at Town Meeting in March to gather the largest turnout of voters. However, Tom Anderson, WRVA president, again stressed the fiscal strain WRVA is operating under at this time.

As an example, if one of the ambulance engines "blows" there is no money for repair, he said, and this is not a remote possibility.

Joe Voci, Randolph’s former public works supervisor, supported the request, nothing that emergency services hold an importance that rises above other things. Selectboard Chair Jim Hutchinson agreed, and Townsend spoke to WVRA’s need to be given a chance to succeed. The vote to hold the Special Town Meeting was unanimous.

Town Offices

Later, the board also decided to use the same special meeting to clear the way to switch the municipal offices to the former Co-op building on Pleasant Street—IF the board decides it’s a good idea.

Hutchinson opened the discussion by reporting that the Municipal Building Committee had met and had extensive discussions with Jesse "Sam" Sammis, who now owns the former co-op space, and with the engineer-architect Mr. Sammis has employed. Sammis has offered to sell the co-op space to the town for the same $300,000 he paid for it.

The meeting with the Building Committee, Hutchinson said, included a tour of the Pleasant Street facility.

He said the committee anticipates having a recommendation for the selectboard at its next meeting.

If the selectboard does want to take advantage of Sammis’ offer, however, voters must agree to change the stated use of money bonded from remodelling of the existing town office building to another building.

Due to potential time constraints, the Selectboard decided it was best to warn this item as a part of the Special Town Meeting. If their findings call for pursuing the change of bonding, the mechanism allowing the voters to respond will be in place.

This also was voted unanimously by the board, with the wording: "Will the voters authorize the changing of the money bonded for the renovation and expansion of the existing Municipal Building to the purchase of a Municipal Office Facility located on Pleasant Street?"