AMHERST — Wildwood School will be kept in usable shape for another year, even though the 71 Strong St. building is likely to only be a place for storage and possibly some indoor sports activities in its gymnasium.
With an increasing likelihood that the Wildwood building will not house any town offices or be so-called swing space for the Department of Public Works, the Town Council Monday committed $143,000 to pay for 10 months of utilities and a half-time custodian, ensuring that it won’t be immediately taken offline.
Councilors also set aside an additional $50,000 for possible physical improvements to the 1970s-era building.
Both expenditures, which will come from previous capital appropriations that have not been used, were approved in 10-0 votes, with three councilors absent.
As of Sept. 1, Wildwood will be turned over to the town by the schools, which are opening the new K-5 Amethyst Brook School to replace both Wildwood and Fort River this fall. Fort River School is already in the process of being demolished to provide additional parking and playing fields for Amethyst Brook.
The Town Council decision responds to a memo from Town Manager Paul Bockelman, Facilities Director Jeremiah Laplante and Finance Director Sean Mangano.
This proposal, they wrote, “represents a middle ground between maintaining Wildwood as a fully occupied municipal facility and completely shutting the building down. The proposal reduces operating costs to reflect its substantially reduced use while preserving the facility, maintaining necessary storage and recreational space, and providing the town with flexibility as it develops a long-term plan for the property.”
The vote comes after town officials decided that the Recreation Department’s seven employees will be moving to the Bangs Community Center, after spending the summer at Wildwood, though the former school will continue to be used to store its equipment and supplies, and Amherst Community Theater items.
Laplante said that the appropriation buys a year for the town to make a decision, observing that he would be concerned about the air quality and moisture after three years, which would complicate restarting the building.
“Can we reduce the electricity? Can we reduce the heat? Absolutely,” Laplante said.
But life safety systems have to be maintained, as a code requirement, in case anyone gets inside. The temperature needs to be set at 68 degrees to have people inside and at 40 degrees to protect pipes from freezing. Doing less than that risks problems that could lead to the building being condemned, Laplante said.
Mangano said the recommendation is to keep the space usable for storage, even if the building won’t be used as backup space or swing space for the DPW. A plan for phased construction has meant the DPW workers may stay put in the 1916 trolley barn, while a new building is constructed next to it on South Pleasant Street, along with a temporary building at the Ruxton gravel pit in North Amherst.
Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said while Recreation does use the gyms at the middle school and high school, as well as Crocker Farm, a memorandum of understanding is needed to use the gym at Amethyst Brook. This means that if Wildwood’s gym isn’t used, there will be two fewer gyms available.
Still, the “compromise plan” offers needed storage, Ziomek said, with only the upper level of the North Amherst School possibly providing similar space.
The town hasn’t yet begun to plan for the future of the Wildwood site, prioritizing instead the possible zoning of the Hampshire College property.
The money for Wildwood leaves open the possibility of reusing the building in some fashion, even if in the end demolition happens.
