Charlestown Petition Seeks Office Addition

Voting on the Town Meeting warrant will be by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 11, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., in the community room of the Silsby Library/Municipal Bu ilding

Charlestown Security, convenience, space and improved accessibility are why resident Albert St. Pierre is urging voters to approve a petition article at Town Meeting for a $450,000 bond to build an addition off the Bakery building, which houses the Selectboards office, and connect it to the nearby Silsby Library building.

The addition, which the Selectboard opposes right now, would allow all of the town offices, including the town administrator, to be moved into one location on the same floor.

Having the town clerks office in the same location as other town offices provides convenience to residents, St. Pierre, the town moderator who gathered signatures for the petition, said.

All public services would be in one place. One-stop shopping.

The addition would provide an entrance on Main Street and include bathrooms and an elevator in the hall connecting the buildings. Once inside, residents would go to the right inside for the town offices, left to the library or take the elevator downstairs to the community room beneath the library.

The most important improvement would be in the area of security. The main thing is (addressing) security, St. Pierre said.

The departure of the police department two years ago from below the library to a new building on North Main Street has created increased security concerns for both the town clerks office and library upstairs, he said.

Librarian Sandy Perron said when the library is open at night there often is no one downstairs, which is where the entrance is, as well as the handicap access ramp and elevator, and the bathrooms.

It is only my staff here and it is difficult to safely monitor downstairs, Perron said.

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Charlestown Petition Seeks Office Addition