Dorchester wrestles with Memorial Hall issues
By Nathaniel Underwood
Frustrations and disagreements over the management of Dorchester’s Memorial Hall have been growing for months amongst village board members and village staff.
Discussions regarding the hall continued during the village board’s Jan. 8 monthly meeting, resulting in action being taken on a few of the ongoing disputes.
However, a number of other issues, such as which committee should be in charge of reviewing the lease and the how waste management charges should be handled, were left unresolved.
The placement of security cameras at the hall and who should have access to them, as well as the charges for trash either being put in the recycling bin or outside a dumpster at the hall, have been discussed across multiple meetings, with differing opinions leading to their tabling.
While consensus was eventually reached on some of these items, such as the security cameras, others remain open. Some of the indecision has been attributed to the vagueness of the village’s role versus the responsibilities of the individual leasing the building. This has led some to call for changes to the lease when it is reviewed in February.
When it comes to which committee should be reviewing the lease before recommending changes to the board, trustee Tom Carter said it should be finance because it involves money.
However, others noted that the buildings and grounds committee, which has traditionally been in charge of handling the lease, will have to look at changing provisions for other village buildings as well. It was also stated that the finance committee has enough to look at as it is.
In the end, the board voted 5-1 to keep the current system, with Carter the sole dissenting vote and Clem Klimpke abstaining.
The waste management overages and contamination charges at the hall were once again discussed as well. The total charges for 2024 reached $1,165, and while it was noted that there had not been any additional charges since a new, larger dumpster was installed, the question of how the charges should be paid for was still up for discussion.
There was some question over whether residents were disposing of their trash in the dumpster or whether the waste was solely from those using the hall.
“I do think it came from the hall,” Jenny Hinker, who leases Memorial Hall, stated. “I think other people would throw stuff in there, but I don’t think that was the reason (for the charges). Since we’ve gotten the bigger dumpster, we haven’t had any good test runs from bigger parties, but I do truly feel that this would solve our problems. There just wasn’t enough space. They were piling up garbage around the dumpster because there wasn’t enough room. So, if we haven’t had anything since then, that makes me feel better about it.”
Trustees suggested that the waste charges could be paid for out of the village’s Memorial Hall fund, but village clerk Christie Erikson was not sure if that money could be used for those purposes, or if it could only be used for renovations at the hall.
“That’s what I was told,” Erikson said. “But I can’t find any concrete information on any of this. I’ve tried to look for minutes on when they decided to change everything over at the Memorial Hall. This is part of my frustration. There isn’t enough to find out what can and cannot happen.”
Erikson said all she hears is opinions from people based on what others have said.
“I’d like some outline on what is supposed to be happening (at the hall) and what our responsibilities are,” she added. “It just seems to be a big misunderstanding on how things are supposed to be handled there.”
Much of the discussion revolved around how the fund for Memorial Hall could be used, and whether or not the charges would fit under its intended purpose or not. This led to a further desire to review the lease.
“I think if you can’t find anything right now, we have to sit down and figure something out so in the future this doesn’t happen,” Klimpke said. “We need to get something down in black and white so we know what is going on.”
Trustee Keith Lageman noted that previous village officials may not have foreseen such issues.
“Back then, it didn’t really get rented this much, so there wasn’t this much garbage,” he said.
Trustee Julie Goldschmidt said a committee meeting is scheduled, which will give the members a chance to go through the lease and rectify the problems.
After further discussion, there still seemed to be a split over who would be responsible for the waste charges. A motion was made by Klimpke that Hinker pay for the entirety of the bill, but it died due to a lack of a second.
Trustee Erik Klemetson then moved to split the bill between Hinker and the village of Dorchester, but it failed on a 3-4 vote. With no motion passed, the issue was delegated to the committee to come up with a recommendation to the board.
Free and reduced rentals
Reduced rates for entities looking to rent the hall were also discussed at the Jan. 8 meeting. Confusion arose after members of the Curtiss Snowmobile Club asked if their group’s event qualified for a free or reduced rental rate available to local entities.
Erikson questioned whether Hinker had proposed the free or reduced rental to the club or if they had come to the village themselves.
“This group asked for a free rental,” Hinker said. “These are things I deal with, so I’m bringing it to you guys about a reduced rental. Per my contract, I don’t even have to do that. I could make a game-time decision. But I bring it to you guys because I think this is a decision that the board would like to see.”
“My personal recommendation is that it opens a can of worms,” she continued. “So now Curtiss gets a free rental. So does Colby now and Medford? So personally, I think they should pay full price, as I requested last year.”
After some discussion, the board agreed that Memorial Hall should be primarily used by village residents, and the free or reduced rentals that are offered to entities from the village should not be extended to parties outside of the village. A motion to deny the club the reduced rate passed unanimously.
A reduced rate was extended to Cornerstone Chapel later in the meeting. The church is looking to put on a play that would be free to the community. The board agreed to charge the church a reduced rate of $15 per hour for the time needed to practice, set up and perform the play.
Incumbents nominated
Trustees Keith Lageman and Tom Carter were nominated for village president at the caucus before the meeting. Daniella Schauer, Clem Klimpke, Eric Klemetson, Dennis Reynolds and Kurt Schwoch were nominated for three trustee positions.
THE HALL - Memorial Hall in Dorchester has been at the center of several contentious debates among village officials during recent meetings. The village’s buildings and grounds committee plans to review the terms of the lease before bringing it back to the board for approval in February.
STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN O’BRIEN
