To the Editor:

There are many good reasons to support the Council on Aging and provide quality services for folks in Marion, but taking over another building – especially one that is in need of significant repair – is not a good idea.

Simply put, the town already has plenty of buildings. We do not need another. At the upcoming Special Town Meeting we are being asked to spend nearly 1/2 million dollars to finalize plans for the town hall renovations and accept the VFW as a gift. The town hall needs to be renovated and made modern.

I support repairing and maintaining what we already own, but not adding more buildings to heat, light and repair. What Marion does not have enough of is commercial property. We need more tax revenues for the town, not more utility and maintenance costs. We took over a commercial property a few years ago (near the radio tower) and promptly rented out large parts of this to private businesses. A clear sign we have excess capacity already. Let's get out of the property management business, address our real estate needs fairly and openly, and maintain and fully utilize what we already have.

Investing in Marion requires us to be sensible about how we use our existing resources and how we spend our town dollars. Investing in Marion does not require the town to own more property.

Chris Collings
Marion