COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — Lawyers representing the town of Columbia Falls and Wreaths Across America are still working on an agreement under which the nonprofit organization will take over ownership of the municipal building and lease back office space to the town.
The Board of Selectmen voted recently to approve an agreement conveying the property to Wreaths Across America, which leases space in the building from the town for its offices and a museum.
The 3-0 vote on Aug. 25 ended months of negotiations between the town and the organization — negotiations that at times spilled over into board meetings and turned rancorous and acrimonious.
Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America, said a committee has been formed to evaluate the building and assess what repairs or improvements should be made.
“We want to make sure it’s kept up well,” Worcester said Tuesday by phone.
“We just look forward to making it good for the community,” she said.
The title to the property has not been transferred yet, according to Worcester. That process, with some details to be worked out by lawyers, will take about another month, she estimated. Lawyers for Wreaths Across America and the town also are working on the lease agreement, she said.
Residents voted 51-32 at a special town meeting in December 2013 to convey the structure, an old school, to Wreaths Across America. In exchange, under the proposal, the town would be granted a free, lifetime lease for its offices. The rationale for giving the building to the organization was that the structure needs substantial repairs and is costly to operate.
The town meeting vote also authorized the board to negotiate the details with Wreaths Across America, which is known for providing Christmas wreaths for veterans gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery and elsewhere. Wreaths Across America also has close ties to the Harrington-based Worcester Wreath Co., which also leases space in the Columbia Falls municipal building.
However, those talks turned rather testy at a special meeting of the board in March that included Worcester and a member of the Wreaths Across America board of directors. The meeting was marked by some verbal skirmishes involving former Selectman Bernard “Bun” Ward, who did not seek re-election at a subsequent town meeting, and Worcester, and there were other testy exchanges, too.
The meeting ended on a more upbeat note, however, as the selectmen appeared committed to amending the purchase-and-sale agreement that had been submitted by Wreaths Across America for their consideration.