HATFIELD — The Select Board and town administrator met Wednesday and agreed that requests for proposals to redevelop the Center School will be sent to potential developers by late July.
Town Meeting voted by an overwhelming majority May 10 to save the building by reusing it as condominiums for age 55 and older.
The Town Meeting vote requires that the building be demolished if it s not sold within 270 days from that date. The old school has been vacant for over a decade and was last attended by schoolchildren in 1980.
According to a 2014 Pioneer Valley Planning Commission study, the condos would generate more than $46,000 in annual tax revenue.
The Select Board and Town Administrator Marlene Michonski also agreed to start cleaning up asbestos at the site in early July. They also discussed the building’s valuation and delayed a decision on whether to establish a committee to aid in the redevelopment process.
Nearly a dozen residents turned out to listen to what Select Board Chairman Marcus J. Boyle said was meant to be a “working lunch” meeting. Sandwiches arrived for the board members and no questions or comments were taken from the residents.
Michonski said that the board expects to have requests for proposals sent to developers by late July. The Hatfield Redevelopment Authority already has drafted a request for proposal, but Boyle said Michonski is putting together the board’s own official draft.
“The HRA has done some work on drafting,” said Boyle, his back to the crowd as the board members sat around a table. “Marlene can lift the sections (from the redevelopment authority version) that are appropriate.”
Christopher Smith, vice chairman of the redevelopment authority, said after the meeting he cannot understand why its version of the request was not being used.
“We’ve put together an RFP that appeals not only to the town’s wishes but to what the developers are expecting,” he said. “It looks like we’re being told, ‘We’ll develop this on our own, and then you’ll go and sell it.’”
Boyle said the former Center School must be appraised before setting a baseline for bidding.
But Smith said he is concerned the appraisal would lead to the board setting a high baseline for bidding that would make it difficult to sell the building, based on conversations he’s had with area developers.
“If they put a value of over $100 on the building, no developer will touch an RFP,” Smith said.
Select Board member Brian F. Moriarty suggested the board defer a decision on forming a committee until a meeting next Tuesday, which he said would allow it to determine the specific purpose of such a group.
Boyle said he does not think a committee would be useful, especially because the Select Board would be able to review any proposals from developers.
Before this year’s Town Meeting, the Select Board had approved the building’s demolition.
Jack Evans can be reached at jackevan@indiana.edu.