Orange blocks public from community room

Town of Orange puts community room off-limits to nongovernment use

BY ROBIN KNEPPER

Date published: 11/8/2009

BY ROBIN KNEPPER

After Jan. 1, Orange residents and organizations will no longer be able to use the town's community room.

The Orange Town Council voted last week to restrict use of the town's large multipurpose room to official town business. Mayor Henry Lee Carter cast the lone vote against the idea, which was suggested by Councilwoman Nancy Alexander.

"Town business and use of the town's council chambers and meetings of the Planning Commission are the No. 1 priorities for that room," Alexander said in an interview last week.

"There has been a lot of disruption to the Public Works Department and confrontations between people who have booked the room and town staff," she added.

Former Mayor Ray Lonick, who shepherded the building to completion in 2005, was irate when he found out about the decision and how it came about at Monday's meeting.

"I'm fundamentally opposed to what took place at the Town Council meeting," he said. "They did it at a work session when no one was there to voice opposition or use their rights to speak against it.

"They could have come up with other solutions, but they chose not to."

The large community room occupies the front of a building that houses the town's Public Works Department in the rear. Public Works staffers maintain the room, and must break down recording equipment used during public meetings before the room can be used by outside groups.

Council members felt the wear and tear on the equipment was unacceptable, according to Alexander. Town Manager John Bailey presented a plan to partition off a third of the room for public meetings, but Alexander said the $7,000 cost was unacceptable.

"Replacing the equipment uses taxpayers' dollars, and the cost to redesign the room is prohibitive," she said.

Use of the room has been free to nonprofit community and civic groups, and it was rented for private functions.

Alexander said the public can use the meeting room at the train depot or commercial facilities such as the Holiday Inn or local restaurants.

"Every church I can think of has a big community room with a kitchen attached, and they're very generous about letting those rooms be used," she said.

Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701
Email: rknepper@earthlink.net

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Date published: 11/8/2009

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