By a tally of 119 to 32, voters in Moretown have given approval to move forward with construction on a new town office building. The Moretown offices have occupied a temporary location since Tropical Storm Irene flooded the former office building more than two years ago.
Tuesday's ballot item asked voters to appropriate up to $40,000 plus interest and secure financing for a term of up to five years. The new office will be built on a village parcel referred to as the "playground lot," across the municipal parking lot from Moretown Elementary School. The ballot warning states:
The project includes final design, permitting and construction of a new town office building. The total cost of which is estimated to be $865,000, of which an estimated $700,000 will be paid from available State and Federal grants-in-aid, and $134,000 from insurance settlement and other related monies.
Moretown is among the communities receiving post-Irene disaster relief funding through the Vermont Community Development Block Grant program, which is providing the $700,000 listed above.