ADDISON — Addison residents on Sept. 24 backed by a 61-46 vote a bond of up to $780,000 to build an in-ground septic system on land west of the current town clerk’s office. The system would serve the town’s Route 17 fire station, current office building and potential future town offices, and the Addison Community Baptist Church.
For more than a decade Addison officials have been working on creating a community septic system that would provide a solution to what they say are the troubled systems that now serve the fire station, existing clerk’s office and church, and provide septic service to what could be future town offices.
Those town offices are intended to be in the former Addison Town Hall, which until January was owned by the church. The two buildings are side-by-side on Route 22A in Addison Four Corners, across a parking lot from the town clerk’s office and Addison Central School. 
The church deeded the former town hall back to the town with the understanding that the town would in exchange provide the church with upgraded septic service. Building the septic system will fulfill that deal with the church as well as provide septic to town buildings. 
Addison’s Town Hall Committee has for years been eyeing the now-empty former town hall as a potential home for a new town clerk’s office. Town officials have long said the existing clerk’s office lacks adequate meeting, storage and work space.
The former Addison Town Hall lacks plumbing as well as septic, but is reported to be structurally sound. 
With the septic system approved that committee will now turn its attention to designing and fundraising for restoration and renovation of that building. Tentative plans call for a town clerk’s office on the lower level and a community meeting center with a stage on the upper level. 
Town Hall Committee Chairman John Spencer said he doubts state or federal aid will lower the $780,000 list price of the septic system, but believes grants could help support work to the former town hall. 
The in-ground system will be installed on land downslope from the town clerk’s office that is owned by the Gosliga farm, which has agreed to provide an easement to the town to allow its installation. Voters have already funded studies of the land’s suitability for and a design of a system that would meet all the buildings’ needs.  
Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at [email protected].