Bennett Park
Press Release - April Planning Committee Update
By Thorne Building Posted April 23, 2018
PRESS RELEASE
April 23, 2018
Millbrook, New York
Contact person:
Charles E. Pierce, Jr.
charlespiercejr@gmail.com
845-266-3505
Since its last meeting in mid-December 2017, the Planning Committee of the Thorne Building Community Center has been engaged in gathering information from the greater Millbrook community about the uses to which the Thorne Building might best be put. Carole Martin, a consultant hired to conduct this inquiry, interviewed many of the groups and organizations of the Village and Town to discover their particular interests. She reported her findings at a meeting of the Planning Committee on April 9 in Millbrook.
“There was a widespread hope that the Thorne Building would become a hub of activity, offering a range of programs for all ages,” Ms. Martin reported, “The hope is that its programs would attract people to the Village and that it would contribute to the economic revitalization of the Village.”
Charles E. Pierce, Jr., chair of the Planning Committee, noted that the Planning Committee would now proceed to develop a proposal for the Thorne Building Community Center at its meetings in May and June, which would be submitted to the Board of the Thorne Building Community center by July 1 for review and approval.
Mr. Pierce also reported that the Board of the Thorne Building Community Center would file in May a judicial proceeding in Dutchess County to eliminate the “reverter” clause. This issue relates to a statement in the original document in which the Thorne family gave the Thorne Building to the Village of Millbrook in 1895 on the condition that it always be used for educational purposes. It also stipulated that, if at some future point the building was no longer used for educational purposes, then its ownership would revert to the Thorne family.
The Court may not render its decision until the fall. Therefore the transfer of the building from the Village to the Thorne Building Community Center cannot be formally accomplished until the issue is resolved.
He added that another community engagement session will be scheduled in the fall to show what has been adopted by the Board, based on the recommendations of the Planning Committee.
Mr. Pierce also added that there are many ways to stay connected and up date on all the happenings of the Thorne Building:
The Thorne Building Website
He added: “All those who wish to remain informed about the current status of this project may view our new website at any time:
He informed us that future communications of the status of the project will always be posted on the website in the News & Events and Press sections, in addition to other distribution methods like email.
Subscribe to Email Updates
He said for those that wish to stay informed by email, Project Updates will be emailed to all subscribers of our MailChimp list periodically.
“We encourage all interested people to visit the website and in the upper right corner there is a subscribe link. Click on that and enter your email address, you will then receive an email from MailChimp that will ask you if you really want to be subscribed to our list. Answer affirmatively and you will automatically receive email communication from us, when we send out updates.”