By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — How can the Grange Hall be of the best use to the community? 

Given that the Town of Naples no longer has a usable gym, and even if voters approve a community center, it might be years before a ground-breaking occurs, the need for recreational space has become crucial.

One starting point is assessing town-owned buildings to determine how each space is being used. One of those buildings to be spotlighted is the Grange Hall, also known as the Singer Center.

Last week, the Naples Select Board authorized the town manager to get a professional assessment of the building, to be 100 percent certain it is safe and also to figure out what maintenance might be needed.

Also, the board agreed that the tenant would continue leasing until June 2025. In other words, the Casco-Naples Before & After School Care program will remain in the building for the duration of its three-year lease that ends June 2025. Before & After leases the building from September through June, for the duration of the school year. Before & After School uses the space for about five-and-a-half hours a day, from 6 to 8:30 a.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m.

Kim Litchfield runs the non-profit program under the guidance of a board of directors. Currently the non-profit pays $100 per month for nine months, half of the electric bill and the heat for the downstairs room.

Other groups that use the Grange include: Cross+Walk Community Outreach food pantry, a Girl Scout troop, the Songo Lock Garden Club plus adult yoga and aerobic classes through Naples recreation.

Chairman Ted Shane weighed in.

“I will not vote in favor of terminating the lease. There is great value in having a daycare for school children. I’m in favor of directing the town manager to work on details of the next contact with that group. If we think we need more money, can they work that out,” Shane said. “I know too many people in that town that use that service. I don’t want to take that away.”

Select board member Kevin Rogers stressed that the Before & After School program need not be displaced in order for building upgrades to take place. He joined the meeting via Zoom.

“I am going to take it further than the lease discussion. The point of the matter is that we are discussing if we are maximizing the use of our municipal facilities. That leads us to, ‘Is this space usable? What do we need to do to get it so it’s at its maximum capacity for usability?’ Them being there has no bearing on us proceeding forward with getting the building completely up and running so that when their lease is up, the property is marketable whether to the community or other commercial ventures. It is a facility that will draw fair market value,” Selectman Rogers said.

“We shouldn’t be talking about terminating the lease. We should plan to start to do repairs on the building, have engineers to inspect the property, and what we need to do to move forward with making it handicapped accessible. If we are to terminate this lease in June for three months, that leaves only another five or six months that we are obligated to. That is all the time that we are needing to do repairs while they are there. They are not holding us back,” Rogers said.

“Instead of talking about terminating the lease, we should be talking about what to do for repairs to that building,” he said.

Select board member Colin Brackett agreed, saying a building assessment was the route to go.

“If we have an unfavorable assessment, you are going to be displaced immediately,” Brackett said to Litchfield.

She responded, “Not just us, summer camp.”

Kevin Rogers favored, “On-going discussions to get the facilities up and running, putting money in reserves so we can use our buildings so that the town’s buildings are turnkey.”

Brackett refocused on getting a professional opinion first.

“Get an engineer in there tomorrow to make sure the kids are safe,” he said.

Town manager Rogers acknowledged his task going forward.

“I will reach out to an engineering group and have an assessment done,” he said.