Posted by PaulK - Mon, Apr 2, 2012, 12:42 P

Old buildings and slippery slopes?

Lithium, the town meeting article in question states that the $25K is for installing a new water main so that the bldg can be sprinklered and for removing an oil tank. Nothing about removing the furnace. I'm going to assume that the oil tank is in the ground and may be leaking or abandoned or about to start leaking. In-ground tanks are an environmental hazard and no longer legal (I think).

It seems that both of these upgrades to the building will make it more saleable no matter who the buyer is. That being said, I also tend to agree with Mark that it makes sense to see if the developer's plan passes muster with the zoning boards and that the water main and oil tank are made part of the purchase and sale agreement as items to be completed before the property changes hands and not done prematurely.

I am a TM member from precinct 1 and I am not going to be on this year's ballot for reelection. One of the reasons is that these special town meetings tend to come up on weekday nights when I have other meetings scheduled. For instance, I won't be able to make it to the April 4th meeting. I hope someone with healthy curiosity and an open mind decides to put his/her name on the ballot to fill the empty seat.

As for the school building, I do think it's a shame that we're not seeing a school going back in there. Short of that, some kind of mixed community use would be wonderful, were the funds available and the town not in such dire need of additional tax revenue. I do hate to see one of our public spaces being converted to private use. New buildings cost millions, witness the police station, and here we're about to give one away for a net of $25,000. It's a shame, really.