Aug. 31 meeting

Mon, 08/30/2021 - 4:30pm

UNION — The fate of the big yellow Thompson Community Center in Union will be the topic of a joint meeting Aug. 31 with the Union Select Board and the Committee for the Future of the Thompson Community Center.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the William L. Pullen Municipal Building Meeting Room and streamed live on Town Hall Streams. While the meeting will be held in person, mask requirements will be dependent on the requirements of the State of Maine.

The agenda includes:

Call Select Board Meeting to order
Call Committee for the Future of the Thompson Community Center to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Discussion of the Thompson Community Center
Select Board approve and sign the Boating Facilities Grant Agreement
Adjourn

The Community Center has long been under discussion, and the committee is, according to the Select Board chair’s newsletter, Sidelines, developing three possible recommendations.

The Town maintains ownership, uses a provider such as Siemens to renovate. A management structure would need to be developed.
Sell the Buildings to a Rehabilitation Specialist to create a mixed-use facility.
Lease or sell the property to an organization primarily for housing but also preserving community utilization.

According to a 2019 Community Conversation Summary, The Future of the Thompson Community Center Complex, “the Thompson Community Center consists of two connected buildings – the Union School (the old yellow school) and the Thompson Memorial Building — and has played an important role in Union’s history, serving as a school, town offices and municipal meeting space, and community center.”

One year earlier, a Thompson Center Capital Needs Assessment Report had been released.