GORHAM – The Gorham Town Council, with two new faces, on Tuesday elected Michael Phinney as its chairman and Shonn Moulton as vice chairman.
Phinney, 46, is a longtime council member and has been a former chairman several times. Moulton, 37, is serving his second term on the panel.
Following last week’s municipal election, Jennifer Elliott, acting town clerk, administered the oath of office at Tuesday’s council meeting to two new members, Bruce Roullard and Benjamin Hartwell, along with Matthew Robinson, who was re-elected.
Outgoing Chairman Philip Gagnon and John Pressey did not seek re-election.
The seven-member council will grapple with finding a future use for the former Little Falls School. On Tuesday, councilors put repair plans on hold.
In council action, the panel declined with a 1-6 vote (Suzanne Phillips favoring) to accept a proposal from a contractor to renovate and repair the former Little Falls School. The town had received bids from two contractors.
Voters in November 2012 approved spending up to $500,000 on the now-vacant building, but future use of the school is undetermined. Councilors will hash over potential new uses for the building in an upcoming workshop.
A resident, Bob Fischer, had concerns in Tuesday’s meeting about deterioration of the building. Town Manager David Cole said the roof is in bad condition but is not leaking, and the boiler is old. There is “nothing right now that would accelerate deterioration of the building,” Cole said.
The school was built in the mid 1950s. Town officials in recent years have mulled several reuses of the building, including one that would have housed the police station. Last June, voters rejected a referendum asking to construct a $6.3 million public safety complex at the site.
Until it closed earlier this year for repairs, the old school had been used for Gorham Recreation Department programs and as a senior citizens’ meeting place.
Jennifer Elliott, acting town clerk, on Tuesday administers the oath of office to Gorham’s town councilors elected last week. They are, from left, Bruce Roullard, Matthew Robinson and Benjamin Hartwell.Send questions/comments to the editors.
