Vote On Pownal Town Hall Proposal On Hold

The Bennington Banner reports Supporters of a proposal for a new town hall have collected the requisite petition signatures to request a town-wide vote on the issue.

But at a regularly scheduled Select Board meeting, confusion arose about whether the proposed wording of the article.

The petition asks the board to call a vote in September on an article to appropriate $630,868 for a new town hall with a modular core and a historic schoolhouse attached.

But at the meeting, members of the historical society presented a modified article for consideration that includes wording about debt authorization - unlike the initial article.

Officials expressed confusion about whether they could change the wording of the article from its form on the petition - and if so, how.

The historical society's initial petition did not include wording about how the money for the project would be raised.

The petition required signatures from at least 10 percent of the town's registered voters, or at least 250 signatures; it received 309, said Town Clerk Julie Weber.

The proposal would move a circa-1840s schoolhouse from its current location on North Pownal Road to town-owned property on Center Street.