MARION — Marion is looking to approve over $3.2 million for the renovation of the Town House at the annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 12, but some officials are concerned with the financial burden.

The request has been recommended for favorable action by the Select Board in a 2-1 vote, but the Finance Committee does not recommend approval.

The proposed renovation states that the sum of $3,276,722 will be used for providing the Town House with “accessibility, fire suppression, building code and HVAC compliance, including final design and all other costs incidental and related thereto.”

Select Board member Carleton Burr did not recommend the approval of this funding at a board meeting on Tuesday, April 1, citing the financial impact of the renovations for his opposition.

“It’s the financial aspect. It’s the fact that prices for everybody have gone up a lot this year,” said Burr in an interview with Sippican Week.

His concern includes the financial burden these renovations could potentially have on both the residents of Marion and the local government.

“I think that many of the citizens of Marion are having a hard time balancing their budgets and I don’t think that when times are so tight for so many people, we should be asking them to spend their money to improve town hall,” said Burr.

While Burr says that the renovations for the Town House are ultimately a “good thing,” he states “this isn’t the right time.”

“The Town of Marion had a very hard time balancing its budget this year because so many expenses have increased dramatically. It makes it very hard to balance these budgets,” said Burr.

Select Board member Randy Parker explained at the meeting that he would like to give the voters the opportunity to decide for themselves.

He sat down with Facilities Director Shaun Cormier who explained the benefits of the renovations. Parker said that the voters should have the same chance to become educated about the changes and vote on their own accord.

“If they can explain to the public the whys and the why nots, we ought to give them the opportunity,” said Parker. “If they don’t want to vote on it, that’s what it is, but they ought to know the reason that we’re presenting this and it’s not just to make the place look pretty.”

The Finance Committee unanimously voted to not recommend the town house renovations for this year at a meeting on Wednesday, March 26.

Committee members suggested alternative ways they could tackle the expensive renovations, including executing the construction in separate phases rather than all at once.

“I personally think the wiser course of action is to try to see if we can bite this apple off in a few bites rather than bite the whole apple at once,” said Financial Committee Chair Shay Assad. “So my vote would be to not recommend the whole article but certainly support a feasibility study of how we approach the necessary things that need to be done to Town Hall.”

Assad also emphasized the importance of safety and accessibility within the town house.

“I do believe that the people that work in this Town House have a right to work in a safe environment, and people that are disabled have a right to be able to move around in this town hall,” said Assad.

Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman says that the priority going forward is “most likely gonna be fire suppression.”