February 23, 1999

College Announces Municipal Building Financing

Proposal

College would provide up to $3 million to

the Town of Middlebury in exchange for present site and building.

Site would become a park.
Middlebury College has announced the terms of

a proposal it has made to Town of Middlebury officials to provide

funding for the construction of a new municipal building at any

new site the town may select. In exchange for the funding, the

Town would convey to the College the buildings and property that

comprise the site of the existing municipal building and gymnasium.

The College will not participate in the renovation of the existing

municipal building or in rebuilding the facility on the present

site.
Specific terms of the proposal are as follows:

• The College would provide financial assistance
  
  for land and construction costs to a limit of $3 million. Payment
  
  would be in installments to meet the principal and interest obligations
  
  of a bond taken out by the Town to cover the cost of the project.
• The College would bear all costs of razing the
  
  present municipal building and gymnasium to construct a park on
  
  the site. The Town would support the College’s requests for approvals
  
  to conduct the work.
• The transaction between the Town and the College
  
  would be incorporated into a renewal and extension of the ten-year
  
  agreement between the Town and the College.
• Should the Town choose the Twilight Hall site,
  
  designs for renovations and additions to the current building
  
  would require careful planning to preserve the historic character
  
  of the building and the property.
• If at any point during the period covered by
  
  the renewal and extension of the ten-year agreement, the tax liability
  
  of the College should change in such a way as to alter the College’s
  
  current tax liability, the dollars paid by the College to amortize
  
  this bond would be treated by the Town as counting toward the
  
  meeting of that tax obligation.
• According to Middlebury College President John
  
  M. McCardell, Jr., the proposal by the College to participate
  
  in the construction of a new municipal building would spare the
  
  taxpayers of Middlebury the entirety of the additional tax burden
  
  required to amortize the bond required for funding the project.
  
  “This is not an invitation to spend $3 million,” said
  
  McCardell. “Nor does it seek to dictate to the Town where
  
  a new building should be located,” he said. “We deliberately
  
  chose to make this proposal only after the site selection committee
  
  had completed its work. The Town remains free to decide the site
  
  for a municipal building. This proposal is an expression of a
  
  willingness on the part of the College to participate in the planning
  
  and construction of a town hall on a site chosen by the Town.
  
  We look forward to learning how the select board wishes to proceed,”
  
  said McCardell.
• The College’s intentions in seeking to acquire
  
  the site of the present municipal building are based on its interest
  
  in creating a park at the current location. McCardell believes
  
  the park would constitute an attractive approach to the College
  
  from the Town, and to the Town from the College.