The meeting came to order at 8:33 am. Present were Bruce Gezelman (chair), Scott McCaskill, Beth Downs (Select Board), Andrew Pinard, and Karen Hambleton. Also attending were Janet Bauer and Marlene Freyler.
The minutes of the August 15, 2024 meeting were approved.
Bruce brought up BACC room numbering as an alternative to the informal names that we now have for the rooms. Karen stated a preference for names, and the consensus seemed to favor using names based on a room’s configuration and function rather than numbers.
On generating interest, Bruce suggested perhaps a short article in the Bradford Bridge, and perhaps something in The Messenger. He wondered whether people knew that it is possible to rent space in the BACC. It has been ten years since it was fully available for community use. Andrew suggested the old office area as a possible shared office or business incubator space for rent, at perhaps $15 per hour; it has good power and wi-fi. He also suggested working up a spreadsheet with the spaces available for rent, and to identify possible uses. Rentals could be for single use, or regular use over a period of time (example was an eight-week class meeting two or three times a week), or regular use on a continuing basis. A pre-school use might be appropriate, or use by New England College.
There was much discussion regarding the spaces available in the BACC.
Andrew will work with Karen on the spreadsheet, and will write a short article for the Bradford Bridge.
The survey generated two responses so far. Both were in favor of renting for long-term use by for-profit entities as long as it is in the community’s interest (e.g. driver education qualifies). Both also indicated that preserving the senior programs was important. In general, they favored using the facility to meet community needs. Andrew noted that additional responses may be forthcoming.
Marlene noted that the BACC needs some remedial work, and asked about the availability of Community Development Block Grants. Andrew said that there probably were, but noted that CDBGs usually require a shovel-ready plan to qualify, and are generally not for ongoing maintenance. He noted that funds need to be regularly set aside for upkeep, and that the CIP should have a line item for BACC maintenance. Currently, the BACC is not represented in the CIP.
Beth noted that, because of the Senior program, there may be AARP grants available. They also usually require an in-place plan before any grants are issued.
Andrew noted that we had no community facilities manager for all the facilities that the town owns. Karen replied that most individual facilities are managed by the entity that uses it. Andrew countered that it was more a matter of having up-to-date maintenance logs, and centralized knowledge of what expenses were anticipated, so that funds could be set aside, or the expenses properly scheduled.
On fund raising, Andrew had spoken to Eileen Kelly, who is interested in raising funds for the Town Hall Second Floor, and noted that we needed a fund to accept any funds raised. Karen, Bruce, and Scott noted that such a fund already exists, and can accept donated funds. Beth noted that the Rural Heritage Connection has also expressed interest in raising funds. Karen suggested that we may need a separate committee to specifically handle fund raising.
The meeting adjourned at 9:50 pm. The next meeting will be on October 17, 2024.
Submitted by Scott McCaskill