After the amount of work that has been done to save the historic town hall, she need not have worried, because the project had the full support of the council.

"I'm really so pleased they're going to make the improvements," Robinson said Friday.

The council on Thursday appointed Donna Gravely, Andy Conway, Judy Wilbur Craig, Robert Deleone, Steve Pratt, Michele Webb, Eric Smith, Steve Wintle and Robinson to an advisory committee to help the town with the project.

Having grown up in the town, Robinson attended plays, proms and other social events in the hall, the Dexter woman said. She and her husband, Kenneth Robinson, 65, now use the facility for indoor exercise during winter months.

As the pair walk around the gymnasium floor five days a week, Robinson informs her husband of the history of the building and the functions held there throughout the years. "It's a part of me," she said, adding that it's also a part of the town's history. "It's a place to bring the community together," Robinson said.

That's also the feeling of Town Manager Judy Doore, who said Friday that work will begin within the next three months.

The state grant matched by a local contribution of $42,500 raised over the past few years will be used for additional work on the heating systems, repair and replacement of some windows, insulation, and some type of lift or elevator to access the second floor.

The work will be done by the end of the fiscal year, if not sooner, Doore said.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Saturday, March 18, 2006 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."