Task Force: Move Makes Sense But Will the Board Budge?

Moving the Board of Education into converted office space at 35 Leroy Ave. may well work, the Facilities Study Task Force decided at its meeting Wednesday morning; but will the board budge?

Co-chair Betsy Hagerty Ross says yes—perhaps—if the town decides the shuffle makes best economic sense of municipal space, but per state statute, the Board of Education needn't pack its bags.

"State statute gives us care, control and custody of our space," Hagerty Ross said. "There are a lot of things to take into account, and the Board of Education will have to have a discussion on it."
 
The potential unwillingness of said party to pack its bags, is a piece of the puzzle not yet considered by the Task Force; and it's a potential clog in First Selectman Campbell's three-phase building shuffle.

Campbell's plan to rearrange town-owned facilities and the agencies that use them revolves around the Senior Center, an old school building on Edgerton Street that the Task Force agrees is in unacceptable condition.

Put simply, the three-phase plan looks like this:

1. Move the Board of Education to the former library at 35 Leroy Ave.
2. Move the Senior Center to the Board of Education space at Town Hall
3. Knock down the Senior Center on Edgerton Street, and leave the space as a playing field.

Charged with the six-week challenge of gauging the general feasibility of the project is the ten-member Facilities Study Task Force, chaired by Selectman Jayme Stevenson.

Wednesday's meeting revolved around part one: could the Board of Education move to the former library space at 35 Leroy Ave.—or not?

Practically speaking, developer David Genovese and Board of Education Director of Facilities and Construction Paul Engemann said yes, the renovation and subsequent move could work well.

Extending the mezzanine level over the entire main reading room would afford the board an approximate 10,000 square feet of office space and cost about $70 per foot, all-in. That's adequate office space, said Engemann, who plans to house the freezer and the janitorial equipment at the high school.

Administrative Officer Karl Kilduff said that the former library's operating budget at 35 Leroy Ave. approximated $59,000; assuming the Board of Education occupies only the left "wing," operating costs should come in far below the board's current $60,000 bill at Town Hall. The only remaining unknown expenditure is the removal of the existing second floor; it was built to withstand the heavy weight of book stacks needs replacing. Genovese says that part of the project should not be too expensive; he'll have a better estimate next week.

"The punch line on this analysis is: it works," said Genovese.

But legally speaking, the Board of Education has every right to stay put.

Reads State Statute 10-220:

"Each local or regional board of education … shall have the care, maintenance and operation of buildings, lands, apparatus and other property used for school purposes."

It is unlikely that this new piece of legal information will cause contention, said Hagerty Ross. After all, she said, it is in the interest of both the Board of Education and the Task Force to come to a conclusion that best serves the town.

"But we do control the facilities that we are given, and part of decision making process will be to have a vote about final recommendation—a sense of the board." she said.

Stevenson said she was unfamiliar with the statute, and the new information should not affect the group's ability to complete its space-allocation study in due time.

"It shouldn't hinder our process," she said.

The Facilities Study Task Force will meet again at Town Hall next Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8:30 a.m.