Voters give school building to the town
by John Castle
HOLLAND — Before getting underway, Senator Russ Ingalls and Representative Larry Labor were provided an opportunity to share updates on various legislative considerations at the State House.
Moderator Mitch Wonson officially opened the meeting with a welcome to the approximately 40 people assembled at 10:19 a.m. Then Mr. Wonson was formally reelected town moderator for the ensuing year. There was a question regarding the current makeup of the road crew, but no additional questions or comments regarding the Town Report.
Voting for town officers commenced, with Diane Judd being reelected Town Clerk, and current select board chair, Travor Gray, reelected to another three year term. The moderator moved quickly through the remaining town positions to be filled and then pivoted to take up business related to the Holland School District.
Mitch Wonson was elected school district Moderator and Heather Dowland was reelected to another three year term on the school board. Jennifer Harlow Jacobs was reelected to a three year term on the North County Union High School and Junior High School board. The voters approved the request to place $100,510 in an unassigned fund balance into the tuition reserve fund. There were several questions regarding the school board’s request to transfer $10,000 of fund balance to the building reserve fund; board chair John Castle explained that the school board wants to work with the select board to identify some facilities repairs or improvements to support the potential transfer of the building to the town. Article 8 of the school meeting was to ask the community to transfer ownership of the school and property to the town.
There were a few questions regarding the operational costs and future of lease agreements that were fielded by Mr. Gray. Mr. Castle expressed the appreciation of the school board for the collaborative process in working with the select board.
Ernie Emmerson shared the long-standing feeling of the community that the building has long been a community resource beyond solely functioning as a school. There was a unanimous voice vote in support of transferring ownership.
There was a short intermission allowing those gathered to connect while enjoying coffee and baked goods provided by the Holland Community Center board. Then Moderator Wonson brought the group back to pick up on the remaining articles of town business. There was a question regarding if there were any large projects considered in the town budget. Mr. Gray provided a brief overview of some road projects dedicated to addressing flood resilience.
The town budget of $872,924 passed unanimously on a voice vote. A request to transfer $40,000 in unspent retreatment funds to the paving reserve fund was passed after Mr. Gray provided an overview of paving considerations for the upcoming summer. Voters approved Article 7 to apply any unallocated surplus funds from the 2024 tax year to the Highway Garage Reserve Fund
Article 8 was amended to increase the request of the Holland Historical Society from $2,500 to $5,000 due to much needed repairs of the roof and steeple. Then, as has been typical in recent years, there was a request to consider the organizational appropriations together in one vote and thus Articles 9 through 18 were approved at the same time.
Under other business there were updates from the Holland Community Center and lots of support articulated regarding the value of community engagement and encouragement for more coordinated activities and events.
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