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09/12/2017 03:45 PMThe sale of the old Mill District School at 112 Glenwood Road to a neighboring couple has been held up due to objections from the Board of Finance. The Mill District School is a one-room school house that was built in 1882. It once served as offices for the Board of Education and Clinton Youth & Family Services, however it’s now vacant.
At the Aug. 21 Board of Finance (BOF) meeting, the board voted not to authorize the sale of the property for $90,000 approved by the Board of Selectmen (BOS). Members of the BOF expressed concern that no written contract had been provided to the board outlining the sale parameters.
At the Aug. 23 BOS meeting, First Selectman Bruce Farmer expressed displeasure with the BOF vote. Farmer rebuffed claims expressed by some at the BOF meeting that the town is required to engage in formal bidding process that would allow any interested parties to submit bids. Farmer also said the BOS went to the BOF out of courtesy, and that it is not up to the BOF to approve the sale of town property.
However, chapter 4 Section 4-5 of the Town Charter states that, for the sale of any town-owned real estate, the BOS must recommend the sale, that the BOF must approve of the recommendation, and that a special town meeting is also required.
According to Farmer, the next step in the process is to resume talks with the couple that wants to buy the property.
The BOS had voted July 26 to approve the sale to Susan and Peter Gaeta, who live near the property. Farmer called the family “great stewards of the property” and said the family is “very interested” in preserving the front façade of the school house.
Farmer said as a condition of the potential sale, a 12-foot easement would be added to the project to allow the town access to do repairs and maintenance on a storm drain located on the property. Farmer said the family has looked after the property for years already.
The Gaeta family could not be reached for comment on the story.