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Don’t Figure it Out Later

After Madison abandoned Academy School and built a new one in 2004, residents wanted to preserve the Academy building for historical and architectural reasons. In a 2018 survey on the preferred uses of the building, most residents chose “community center” but insisted that the building support itself by leasing out space. In 2019, the Academy Design Committee presented a final plan for a community center to the Board of Selectmen (BOS).

Madison Youth and Family Services (MYFS) then declared it wanted in, and the board agreed to apportion MYFS one-third of the Academy space, which increased the project cost from $14 million to $15.9 million because of the loss of rental space and the addition of a geothermal system. But what will happen with the current MYFS building on Town Campus if they move to Academy?

At the public BOS meeting on April 3, residents learned that the current design plan will leave large sections of Academy unusable. One board member called this a “compromise.” The First Selectwoman called it “sequencing” until “we get funding” to give voters “what we said we were going to give” them, not what voters said they wanted in the survey!

What is Academy? If it’s a municipal building, move all of the town departments to it, sell Town Campus, and renovate the entire Academy building. All municipal services would then be central to town, and there would still be space (the gymnasium, auditorium, etc.) for other community uses. The revenue generated from selling Town Campus would go a long way toward giving us a centralized public facility that we all need and can be proud of.

A half-design is irresponsible management. Don’t “figure it out later.” Approve a complete renovation design now that will allow the use of the entire space and save taxpayers’ money.

Teresa VandenDolder

Madison