By Nate Leskovic
Times Staff
6/5/08

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The MWC offered the clubhouse to the town last year at no cost. However, the proposal was rejected at the 2007 Annual Town Meeting due to the cost of operation and renovation.
In addition, there was concern the prohibition of alcohol on town-owned property would limit options.
The proposed legislation, which is in conference committee between the House and Senate, calls for the establishment of a nonprofit group to run the space.
“There’s a definite need for this in town,” says Selectmen Chair Kathy Fagan, who has been involved in discussions on possibilities for the clubhouse. “We have a great arts program in our schools, but we can’t support everything.”
Though MWC President Anne Thompson says she feels she has been outside the loop on the initiative, she is supportive of the idea as long as the club keeps its access to the building. She is wary about getting involved with politics but says if the club votes to consider the concept it would move forward.
Joyce calls the proposal an “opportunity to preserve a historic building while creating a center for learning, culture and community events.”
Possibilities for the facility include using the ballroom as a theatre and an event center for exhibitions, functions and dinners; using the kitchen for catering events; and converting the wooded area behind the building into a parking lot.
An arts center could stage plays and musicals, exhibit films and hold classes, and host the planned Milton public access cable television studio, according to Joyce.
The funding would be used for feasibility studies and architectural drawings to renovate the clubhouse, which would include new roof shingles, ADA compliant restrooms, air conditioning and other repairs. The language stipulates that the town would serve as fiscal agent for the project until a nonprofit corporation could be established.