After four years and a series of votes that failed to approve funds, Casco selectmen will put forward another possible solution for what to do with the vacant community center on Meadow Road.

Three town-wide votes in the last six months have failed to inspire action to either renovate or tear down the building, which is currently unfit for use. Now some selectmen have proposed to fix the building with a combination of $450,000 in town funds and $80,000 collected by the recently-formed Save the Casco Community Center Committee.

Selectmen will hold a workshop Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss drawing up a warrant for a special town meeting Jan. 10 to propose fixing the Casco Community Center, which formerly housed town offices and recreation programs.

Selectmen reconsidered their previous decision to hold the special town meeting Tuesday, eventually voting to move forward as planned.

Selectman Carroll Morton made a motion to reconsider their previous vote and instead wait to vote on the community center at the annual town meeting in June.

“It would be fairer for everybody,” Morton said, adding that more people would attend the meeting in June than a special town meeting in January.

Selectman Calvin Nutting also supported delaying the vote until June.

“To me it makes a lot more sense to plan and have it in the next budget and not to rush it through,” Nutting said.

But Chairwoman Barbara York said she didn’t see the past four years of debating what to do with the building as a rush.

“At this time I think it’s time to move forward,” York said. “We’ve been doing this for four years, the town is being really divided.”

Casco resident Kevin Hancock, who is one of the people behind a drive to renovate the building, asked the selectmen if the purpose of postponing the vote was to provide more time to defeat the proposal or if it was to take the time to do it right.

“Are you trying to buy more time to reverse the vote of the people?” Hancock asked, adding that residents have already voted not to tear the building down and once voted to renovate the center.

“It’s up to the people to decide,” Nutting said, adding that he didn’t think this was the correct time to take money out of the undesignated fund balance or borrow money for the project.

At the June 11 town meeting residents approved borrowing $750,000 to complete the minimum repairs needed to re-open the community center to residents. They also approved allowing the town to borrow up to $175,000 for the conversion of Casco Memorial School for use as town offices.

But the town meeting warrant lacked a signature from David Morton, town manager and treasurer, and so town officials had to schedule a special town meeting to approve the 10-year bond to pay for renovations to both the community center and the Casco Memorial School. Residents voted against the more than $1.2 million bond, including interest, at the Aug. 19 special town meeting.

At the most recent vote on Nov. 4, residents narrowly defeated 990-957 a referendum question to spend no more than $122,350 to remove the community center, leaving the attached post office intact.

David Morton said he was concerned about keeping the building intact during the process of deciding whether or not to renovate it. Though the roof withstood last year’s snow load, Morton was concerned about the coming year, given they can’t shovel the roof.

“That delay may in itself be defeating the purpose of saving the building,” Morton said.