HATFIELD – The annual Town Meeting will be held at at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Smith Academy gymnasium, less than a half mile from the site of one of the most discussed issues – the former Center School.
The town’s 2,615 registered voters will also consider the proposed $9,441,760 operating budget for the fiscal year 2017, beginning July 1. That is a less than 1 percent increase from the current year’s figure of $9,351,232.
The overall total budget for next year is $11,514,038. That is a 3 percent reduction from the current year’s total budget of $11,918,230, resulting in part because the town has less debt, according to Town Administrator Marlene Michonski.
Several articles relate to the Center School after the July 1, 2015, decision by the Historical Commission to place a one-year moratorium on the demolition of the building.
Last attended by children in 1980, the old school has been vacant for over a decade.
Christopher Smith, vice chairman of the Hatfield Redevelopment Authority, said after earlier failed attempts to lease or sell the building, the authority has revised Article 14 this year to focus on reuse of the building as condominiums for people 55 and older.
He said several area developers became more interested in the property when reuse plans “matured to a more formal idea.”
On the warrant are Articles 14, 15, and 17, which all deal with issues around the former school. Voters first will be asked to declare the property surplus so it can be sold, Michonski said. She said 33,400 square feet of land would be sold with the building, but the town-owned playing fields behind the building would be preserved and not included in the sale.
The Open Space Committee is also asking that a 6.28-acre portion on the east side of the Center School property be protected for conservation restriction purposes. Michonski said the intent is to provide public access to that land for recreational use if the building sells.
Voters will also be asked to authorize the treasurer to borrow $200,000 to be used for asbestos removal and any costs related to selling the property.
Smith said he looks forward to the possibility of the structure “returning to being a useful part of the community.”
“It’s a beautiful historic icon of the town center of Hatfield,” he said. “This building deserves a second life.”
He added that with an aging town population, the condominium project would “fill a real need.”
“We look around at other communities who have figured out what to do with old schools, jails, hospitals – and they’ve done a beautiful job of it,” he said. “It isn’t like we’re asking to do something other people haven’t done.”
If within 180 days from the meeting the building has not been sold, Select Board is asking for authorization to move forward with demolishing the structure.
There would still be associated costs for asbestos removal in that case, in addition to demolition costs, said Michonski. She said roughly $362,000 would be needed for abatement and demolition.
“It’s incredibly well-built and will last another 100 years or more,” said Smith. “That tells you that this building should be preserved,” he added, stating that demolition costs will be particularly high because the building is so structurally sound.
Voters will be asked to address another issue related to aging – a significant deficit in water and sewer systems. Michonski said several water pipe breaks during the past winter led to the $43,000 deficit. The breaks, are a result of aging pipes, she said.
Articles 2, 18, 19, and 20 deal with water and wastewater issues.
Hatfield has a master plan in place for water, but does not for sewer – something that will require $135,000 in order to develop.
Two more water-related requests would authorize the treasurer to borrow $65,000 to repair 500 feet of sewer line on North Street, and to take $25,000 from free cash to make water service repairs on Valley and South streets.
Voters also will be asked to accept a donation of land for a park next to Town Hall. The Trustees of Smith Academy would like to donate an acre of land to the town with the agreement that it will maintain the property.
Article 11 asks the town to authorize acceptance of the land, and Articles 12 and 13 relate to paying for restoring the park property.
Other articles on the warrant include a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Hatfield Renewables for a solar project on North Hatfield Road, (Article 9); allowing any public office in Hatfield to remain closed on all Saturdays (Article 7); authorization to borrow $850,000 via a bond to fund the second phase of the Town Hall renovation (Article 10); and a request from Duval Logging LLC to amend the zoning of a five-acre property on Straits Road from rural residential to light industrial.
Sarah Crosby can be reached at scrosby@gazettenet.com.