By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — It was one of the surprises during this summer’s retirement party for former Casco Town Manager Dave Morton.

The Casco Town Hall will be named after him.

By early 2020, the town hall building will be rededicated as the David P. Morton Town Office.

Currently, Casco Selectman Holly Hancock has been working with town staff on the details of a plaque that will be placed inside the town office.

It is undecided whether or not a metal sign will be displayed outside the town building, located off Meadow Road.

“We were looking for a picture to put on a plaque. There are a lot of the pictures, ones from a group of pictures taken at his retirement party,” Hancock said. 

Code Enforcement Officer Alex Sirois snapped many of the photos, she said. Hancock and Sirois have been going through the photos to see which one would work best.

The selected photo “will be mounted behind Plexiglass next to the wording dedicating the building to David Morton,” Hancock said.

In the near future, there will be a formal event to rededicate the town hall. Morton will be in attendance, of course. Also, the event will be well publicized in advance.

The date has not yet been set. It’s likely to pan out in the next few months.

It could happen as early as January, according to Hancock.

“Probably in January,” she said.

“Dave was instrumental in the plans for a new town hall — with input from the selectboard,” she said. 

Hancock provided a little history about the past venues of the town office.

“To go back, the original town office was where the community center is now. They discovered mold, so they had to move out,” she said. “They were going to take up the upstairs room at Central Station, which meant it would no longer be available to Casco fire and rescue personnel. So, the department and some other folks built the town office behind the station.”

That annex behind the Casco Fire Station was a temporary place for the town hall. However, almost 10 years passed before residents settled on a solution for the new town hall.

“So, it took a number of years to get to the point where it was time to build,” Hancock said.

Morton was involved in the construction along with selectmen Grant Plummer and Thomas Peaslee, she said.

“The town acted as general contractor just to save some money. The selectboard approved using vendors that were local. Some of whom we already had relationship with,” she said.

Hancock said it wasn’t just Morton’s direct involvement with the town office, but also it was the building where he worked.

“Because, he’s been our town manager for so many years, it seemed like the right building. That was the most appropriate building to name after him,” she said.