Speed limits in town reduced this weekend
The Town Council meeting Monday night included three other developments: the unveiling of plans for Rush River Commons phase two, approval of a special-use permit for White Moose Inn for two additional rooms and an announcement that speed limits will be decreasing in town this weekend.
Rush River phase two
The Town Council received a presentation on Rush River Commons phase two, which will include a community center and office building. A to-scale model of what the campus would look like — with phase one and two completed — was on display and chief engineer Steve Plescow said the principle of respecting the environment, which he said the team focused on in phase one, will continue.
Plescow said the community center will be about 10,000 square feet, and the office building will have two stories, with a 4,000 square-foot footprint. The office building constructed in the first phase is about 9,000 square feet, and the food pantry is 4,500 square feet.
Plescow said the buildings are designed to “look like they might have been here a long time,” and were developed to mimic a grouping of agricultural buildings like a barn, farmhouse and a silo to disguise an elevator.
Permits have not been applied for yet, but Plescow said he hopes the process will move quicker than the first phase, and he hopes ground can be broken this year.
Model of Rush River Commons phase one and two. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
SUP approved for 249 Main Street
The Town Council and Planning Commission held a joint public hearing on an application from Jim Abdo, owner of White Moose Inn, for a special-use permit to add two hospitality rooms at 249 Main Street. No one from the public spoke, and the permit was approved unanimously by both bodies.
One condition of the approval is for off-street parking to be provided for guests, and on-street parking be discouraged.
Speed limit actually changing
During his report, Mayor Joe Whited said speed limits will finally be decreasing from 25 mph to 20 mph in town this weekend — a change the council approved in October of last year.
“After an incredibly long wait for the slow grind of commonwealth bureaucracy, and then the astounding amount of time it takes to have signs made, the speed limits in town will be coming down this weekend, assuming we get a break from the weather,” Whited said.
