This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
08/17/2016 12:00 AMEverything must go. In an effort to clean out Academy School, the Town of Madison is opening the building to the public on Thursday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to sell off all old equipment left in the building. The sale event was approved at a special Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Aug. 16.
The school was vacated more than a decade ago, but has continued to be used as a storage space for everything from desks and music stands to microscopes and carpet cleaners. First Selectman Tom Banisch said the goal of the sale is to clear out the building at minimal cost to the town.
“The primary purpose of this whole thing has been cost avoidance,” he said. “The more stuff we can give away, sell, get rid of, the less stuff we have to pay for.”
Banisch said he was unsure of the total value of the equipment left in the building. Town Intern Cameron Hubbard, who has been cataloging the equipment in the school, said he thinks the sale will be a success.
“While I was in there today [Tuesday], a couple people came up and they said, 'We had no idea this was happening, this is fantastic,'” he said. “If it is not that big of a success, then that is not the end of the world for getting rid of this stuff.”
Hubbard said some of the materials in the building can be donated.
“We have a lot of kitchen equipment and a guy from a soup kitchen came down and I showed him around the kitchen,” he said. “I am trying to give some of this stuff to people who need it because that stuff is kind of hard to sell.”
The sale comes just weeks after the Shoreline Arts Alliance (SAA) walked away from the Academy School project, citing a lack of progress over recent months and a shift in business terms. Over the past three years, the town had been working with SAA to explore the idea of building a cultural arts center, but will now have to come up with a new plan for the aging facility.
Regardless of what the town decides to do with the building, Fire Marshal Sam DeBurra said the building needs to be emptied now.
“The reason why we are here is because the fire alarm system has finally done itself in. It had a major melt down,” he said. “So rather than put more money into it and fix it, you have to vacate the building. I don’t care if you sell it or whatever, but you have to get out of the building because the building has to be secured.”
The sale will take place Thursday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Academy School gym.