Scouts Lead Movement for New Acushnet Library

A grassroots campaign to bring a new library and community center to Acushnet has scored another victory.

Acushnet Girl Scouts eagerly await Town Meeting's vote on holding a special election for a new library and community center (Credit: TSM)

Voters approved a measure Monday to hold a special election for the $6.3 million facility, which would replace the aging Russell Memorial Library. The campaign has been led by local Girl Scouts, who collected nearly 700 signatures to get the item back onto the Town Meeting warrant, after it failed a vote on April 1st.

Scout leader Debbie Rock tells WBSM News, a new community center would go beyond helping just the Girl Scouts.

12-year-old Scout Callie Arruda of New Bedford says she's learned a great lesson in local government.

The town's current community center is set to close when its home, the former Howard School on Middle Road, shuts down on June 30th. The special election to approve the new library and community center will take place on June 25th, coinciding with the special Senate election in the state.

Town Meeting also approved the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, and a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries.