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04/11/2017 12:00 AMWhat should be done with Academy School has been a long-debated question in town, but after a recent online survey and a workshop meeting, the question has transformed into: Who wants or can do something with Academy School? At the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on April 10, the board approved drafting a request for proposals (RFP) to see who might be interested in tackling the aging school.
In recent months the town has ramped up the investigations into a new use for Academy School. The BOS hired an outside consulting firm, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc. (FHI), to conduct an online survey, stakeholder meetings, and public meetings to get a better sense of what residents want to see happen to the building and what possibilities are feasible.
More than 1,000 people filled out the online survey over the past two months, answering questions concerning people’s individual connections to the school, concerns about the building, and desires for its future use. In addition, at the first workshop meeting on March 28, residents answered additional questions and engaged in group discussions.
At the BOS meeting, FHI facilitator Francisco Gomes reviewed the results of the online survey and the workshop with the board. In summation, he said a majority of participants want to see the building have a mixed use, the front section of the building preserved, and a significant portion of people are comfortable with the sale or lease of the building contingent upon the intended future use.
“The greatest theme here is people want to know where this is going,” said Gomes. “The community wishes to remain engaged in this process and wants a say in the future of this property.”
With all of the information in hand, the BOS voted to use the summary results as a framework for drafting a RFP to be released to the public. Director of Planning & Economic Development Dave Anderson said this is the next logical step.
“We issue an RFP for private development proposals kind of around the framework that we have outlined and we give people another opportunity through another workshop process to evaluate those proposals,” he said. “Hopefully we will get some consensus on movement one way or another on what people want to see.”
Anderson said the building has been evaluated extensively and it is time to get some new ideas.
“I think it is time we cast the net wide and just see what opportunities there might be for the building,” he said.
The RFP draft will be discussed at a future BOS meeting.