Issues With Proposed Wheelock Garage

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Created on Thursday, 03 May 2012 12:37

Written by Super User

WHEELOCK - The debate over the new proposed Wheelock Town garage continues.

In 2007, on Town Meeting Day, plans to have a new building and garage for the fire department were shot down.

A couple of years later the town select board wanted to try the plan again on another Town Meeting Day, those plans as well were denied. Now Wheelock is again trying to move forward with their plans to replace the current town garage and build two new buildings on land they must buy.

 In 2009 the town was granted contingency money to buy land for future projects that would benefit the town. Wheelock has spent three thousand dollars already of that contingency plan and now has land to buy so they can build the new expansion for the town hall and a new town garage. Next to the town hall is a blue structure that Wheelock has its eyes on and plans to buy the land (which includes 1.8 acres). The house is estimated at $75,000 and in which select board member Steve Amos said, " We will hopefully try to work down that number".

In the filled Town Hall there seemed to be two groups of people that filled the room. One group was those who supported the new plans and a smaller group who did not like any of the plans that were being told of at the information meeting. Amos told the rowdy crowd that the project will cost the town $800,000, this does include all the construction costs and everything that comes with building two new structures. With buying the land a group of people thinks that with all the loose ends tied together, the project will finish around one million dollars.

With the crowd getting rambunctious, because some people were being denied their turn to speak, fellow towns people, such as Carol Rossi, spoke out and asked the gathering to "keep peaceful and stick to the task at hand." "For me to centralize this here, I really, really appreciate this," said Rossi, who was in support of the new buildings and the buying of land. "I love this idea for Wheelock, and I ask please buy that land next door. Please no matter how many of us gets upset, I think it's a beautiful vision for our future."

Though ground breaking has not begun, groups will not approve of this due to the poor economy. With improvements looming in the future, it is hard to tell whether the new Town Garage will be built smoothly.