Q&A sessions scheduled for Naples Town Hall rebuild

October 14th, 2022
SPACE FOR the U.S. Post Office is part of a ballot referendum to build a new gymnasium, town office, and community center. Three question and answer sessions have been scheduled for the public during the month of October. (Image courtesy of Harriman)

By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The best foundation for making sound decisions is to gather information, and to sort out fact from fiction. 

This month, three question-and-answer sessions have been scheduled so that Naples residents can get the facts and figures about a proposal to build a new town hall campus. 

The build-new proposal will be presented to voters as a ballot item during the upcoming November Election. 

Therefore, the members of the Naples Community Center Exploratory Committee (NCCEC) have begun a public awareness campaign in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

The public meetings will be held at the Edes Fall Community Hall, 319 Edes Falls Rd., on Oct. 19. and at the Naples Town Hall meeting room, 15 Village Green Lane on Oct. 26. The Wednesday meetings will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

WILL NAPLES voters approve or reject a proposal to build a new town hall campus? That will be referendum item on the ballot in November. (Image courtesy of Harriman)

“People can come and ask questions, whether they are for or against the project,” according to NCCEC member Jenn Kenneally. 

Construction prices and the mil rate impact are some of the topics that will probably concern voters. 

“Those are the types of questions we want to address in person,” Kenneally said. 

“If it’s approved, it goes out to bid. We can turn down the bid if it’s too high. Taxes may not even go up until a year and a half down the road,” she said. 

Prior to scheduling the public meetings, the committee members got together and listed the questions they had heard most often. They created a document that answered the questions so that the information being conveyed to the public is consistent. 

In addition to the public meetings, the committee has engaged in other ways of informing voters such as mailings and posts on the town’s website. 

“A mailing will go out to all the registered voters,” Kenneally said. 

The committee was established three years ago with the mission of looking into options for replacing a town gym that had reached the end of its lifespan. The committee hired Harriman as the engineer. Harriman provided a few different options that were later pared down to one choice.