Dover Community Center Building Project: Special Town Election to be held June 12th
DOVER – The Board of Selectmen and the Dover Community Center Building Committee wish to share the following information about the proposed Community Center Building Project in advance of the second of two important votes in June.
The Town of Dover has been working since 2019 on a plan to meet the needs of a growing, multi-generational community and to create a new focal point of town life. Following a comprehensive review of options, the Community Center Building Committee pursued a plan to renovate and expand the 1910 Building in keeping with the traditional design of Town Hall and the Dover Town Library.
Town Meeting approved spending almost $19 million on the project in 2021. Since that approval, factors including supply chain delays for materials and a labor shortage have increased construction costs across the country,
The Town rebid the Center project earlier this year. On April 25, the Community Center Building Committee voted to recommend M. O’Connor Contracting of West Roxbury, the lowest qualified bidder, at a cost of about $25.4 million. The Board of Selectmen approved.
The Board called a Special Town Meeting on Saturday, June 3 to address the Center project.
Results of June 3 Special Town Meeting
In Article 1, voters were asked to temporarily exceed the tax levy limit set by Proposition 2 1⁄2 to pay for approximately $6.6 million in additional project costs. In Article 2, voters were asked to temporarily exceed the levy limit to include $174,000 in project costs for an outdoor recreation court and outdoor play area. Both articles required a two-thirds majority for approval.
Article 1 - Appropriate for Caryl Community Center Project - Passed 220 (yes) to 85 (no)
Article 2 - Caryl Outdoor recreation court and swing area - Passed 203 (yes) to 77 (no)
Article 3 - Caryl Community Center Operations - Failed 104 (yes) to 167 (no)
These articles also will require ratification in a town-wide referendum scheduled for Monday, June 12. Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm in the Dover Town House. This question requires a majority vote for passage.
Should the debt exclusion be approved, the Town anticipates breaking ground in July with a projected opening in the fall of 2024.