PHILLIPS — The Phillips Town Office will be closed Thursday, Nov. 7, and Friday, Nov. 8, in order to relocate to the former Skowhegan Savings Bank building, 124 Main St.
The building was donated to the town after the bank closed its doors in early 2018. Later that year, voters accepted the property and gave selectmen the authority to relocate the town office and decide when that should happen.
The town office is currently located on Russell Street in the former Phillips Elementary School.
The town office will be closed Monday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day. It is expected to reopen at the new location on Tuesday, Nov. 12, said Town Manager Maureen Haley.
The Phillips Food Pantry, also located in the Russell St. building, is still struggling to find a solution so its doors can stay open, food pantry volunteer Dorrie White said Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The food pantry is not governed by the town but has shared space with the town for many years.
The future town office space does not have room for the pantry, Haley said previously. Heating the aging building for one room was not effective, she added.
White said one solution would be to stay put and find a way to efficiently heat the 24 by 36 feet room over the winter.
“I am working with the town to figure out how we could install some kind of heating system, such as a Ranni,” White said. “That could help us stay open. On the other hand, even if we found a used system, it would cost us about the same as it does for us to buy eight to 12 months worth of food.”
The pantry serves the residents of Phillips, Avon and Madrid. During the first nine months of the year, the pantry served 375 households, providing meals for 801 individuals.
The food pantry is a non-profit organization and relies on donations and grant funding to operate. It is staffed entirely by volunteers.
If a new space or solution is not found soon, the food pantry will close, White said.
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