Forum on inn's plans set for tonight
Toolbox
By David Delcore Times Argus Staff - Published: March 28, 2006
WILLIAMSTOWN – Proponents want to hear what local residents think about a plan to convert the Autumn Harvest Inn into a "community recovery residence" for mentally ill patients who will soon be released from the Vermont State Hospital.
They will get their chance tonight.
Developer Peter Holmburg and Michael Hartman, of Washington County Mental Health Services, will host the 7 p.m. forum that will be held in the cafeteria at Williamstown Middle-High School.
The forum was originally scheduled to be held at the local inn and restaurant on Clark Road, but organizers said there was a concern that space could be a problem depending on the turnout, prompting the change of venue. Signs will be posted at the inn directing participants to the nearby high school and organizers said someone would be there to make sure people got the message.
Despite the unavoidable confusion over the location of tonight's forum, Hartman said organizers are committed to "transparency" given troubles that doomed similar projects in both Vergennes and Greensboro.
"Our hope is to be able to convince people that this is not a terrible thing coming to town … it's maybe something manageable," he said, explaining he and Holmburg would arrive fully prepared to field tough questions from critical residents.
"The test will be to make sure we say things clearly enough that people feel that we're being straightforward," he said, predicting questions will focus on the proposed use of the property, how that use will affect the value of surrounding properties and whether the inn will remain on the tax rolls.
Hartman said the latter question was arguably the easiest to answer given Holmburg's plans to buy the Autumn Harvest Inn from co-owners George Malek and his wife, Carolyn White.
Under the arrangement now being discussed, Holmburg would buy and renovate the property and then lease it to a consortium of mental health agencies led by Washington County Mental Health. Valued at just under $1 million, the inn and the 45 acres that are part of the property would remain on the erty tax rolls, he said.
Hartman said Holmburg would elaborate on plans for the property that were first announced at last week's selectboard meeting.
"We'll provide a brief overview and then we'll answer questions until people run out of them," he said, noting that organizers are prepared to schedule additional forums in the next two weeks if necessary.
"Basically, it really depends on the level of dialogue (tonight)," he said.
Although Hartman predicted the project will have its critics, he said several supportive comments – including a couple of job inquiries – from Williamstown residents who have said they plan to attend tonight's forum.
"It won't be 98 people saying: 'no, no, no' and nobody saying: 'yes,'" he said.
If all goes as planned, Hartman said the project would eventually be operated by a consortium including WCMHS, the Howard Center for Human Services and the Clara Martin Center. He said the facility would be licensed to serve up to 14 residents – most of whom have been hospitalized for years and aren't yet ready to be placed in one of the "halfway houses or group homes" that are already operated by each of the partner organizations.
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