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03/07/2018 11:01 PMAcademy School and its green space hold a lot of value for the town—historic, sentimental, and otherwise. It is no surprise that people are passionate about its future. What is a surprise, and quite frankly alarming, is that individuals and groups are trying to confuse the conversation with mistruths and political jabs. This property has been languishing for too long, and this process is too important to our community for this behavior to be considered acceptable.
From the start, I have been committed to breathing new life into Academy in accordance with the will of the residents. Those who engaged early in the process indicated that they wanted to see the property sold and, if necessary, the land along with it. Recently, others have expressed a concern about maintaining open space. The selectmen have heard this new input and we have slowed down the process to give it its due consideration.
We have received proposals from potential developers and heard from engaged citizens. What lies ahead in the process is that the Board of Selectmen needs to incorporate all of the public comment into its decision-making process. A due diligence period comes next, where we will work to make sure that both the town and the developer are on the same page about the scope and viability of the project. This is also where the developer(s) create a detailed plan that will ultimately go in front of the public for another hearing. After that, there is a final legal review, a Board of Selectmen vote, a Board of Finance vote, a special town meeting, and finally a referendum. Along the way, we will be communicating to you how the process is moving along.
In the meantime, let’s continue an honest conversation in public.