This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/12/2019 12:00 AMA crowd of residents gathered at Polson Middle School on March 6 to voice opinion on a potential Community Center at Academy School. After over an hour of public comment, one thing was very clear: The community has a lot of different thoughts on what a community center in Madison should actually include.
The public hearing was the second session hosted by the Board of Selectmen (BOS) in as many weeks. The hearing was an opportunity for members of the new Ad-Hoc Academy School Community Center Design Committee to listen to the public’s thoughts for the building.
“One of the problems I think this committee is faced with from the beginning is what is a community center and what should be in it and what are we looking for,” said First Selectman Tom Banisch. “Those are the answers we are looking for from you folks.”
The committee is charged with working in consultation with Colliers International, a local project management firm, to create a design proposal for a community center, create a cost estimate, hold public input or workshop sessions for the public, and recommend next steps for the design proposal to the BOS by Monday, April 8. Committee Chair Bill Stableford said the committee is on a tight timeline so work is already underway.
“We have already done some coordinating with the Beach & Rec Commission and Department, the Madison Arts Society, and the tri-board committee that is developing a long range plan for maintenance and new school facilities,” he said.
The committee has also been approached by the Beach & Recreation Department to discuss having the department transfer offices to Academy and assume responsibility for the building if it were to become a community center. Stableford said the department even went as far as presenting hypothetical programming and scheduling for the whole building on a typical day.
With that in mind, Stableford said the committee needed to hear more from the public.
“The purpose of tonight is for the committee to listen to you residents of Madison, to hear what types of facilities, features, activities, you would most like to see if there was a community center in Academy School,” he said. “Tonight is not to discuss the merits of creating a community center. That issue is behind us and our committee if moving forward to develop a viable community center and what that would look like in Academy School.”
The Public Weighs In
Just shy of 100 residents attended the public hearing. Attendees had the chance to speak and also fill out a paper questionnaire to rank their preferences on possible uses within a community center model.
Large portions of the audience were in favor of having a lot of art and theater space in the building; some wanted the town to look at public private partnerships to possibly lease some of the building; and others felt that the question of “What is a community center” has already been answered.
Resident Catherine Ferrante, who helped develop and promote the community center option for the GreatBlue poll, said that poll had a detailed description of what could fit in a community center at Academy and a cost estimate. She said having this new committee ask again what should be in the building seems redundant.
“The community center description that was on the poll and the $14 million cost constitute the public mandate, moving the town toward a community center,” she said. “…I struggle to understand why the town would spend six months and $16,000 on this scientifically significant survey just to upend the results and start from scratch by forming a new committee to uncover whether six people here tonight desire a recording studio. That part, I believe, is a waste of time.”
Some in the audience were also concerned that the committee might not consider that other facilities in town already provide some of the services people are asking to have in a community center.
“A couple of things I am looking for out of this group is the recognition that we are already providing services in this town,” said resident Maureen Lopes. “You are not starting from ‘We have nothing going on.’ We have an arts barn, we have a senior center that a lot of groups use at night…so we don’t want to duplicate and we want to know where is the need.”
A few residents kept discussing a desire to see some sort of marketplace in part of the Academy building. However, Stableford pointed out that having a commercial enterprise in that building would have its own set of challenges.
“As we understand, if a commercial enterprise is to operate in Academy School, it would require a zoning change for that building, and if it were a food entity, it would require a major increase in the septic system, which would be added cost,” he said.
Space for the arts was a popular desire among many residents. Some folks acknowledged that the town does have an arts barn, but the building isn’t in the best shape.
“I would like to push for as much theater space as possible,” said resident Joan Walker. “Full disclosure, both of my kids have gone through the theater program from Brown through DHHS. We have a lot of good athletic facilities throughout this town and we do not have that same level for theater and arts and I would really love to push for that.”
Residents did agree that it is important to see part of an Academy community center generate some revenue, at least to help offset the cost of operating a building of that size. Economic Development Commission (EDC) Chair Ryan Duques said the EDC is looking at possibly pitching to the committee using a section of the building for things like co-working space and gym facilities.
“We have had some preliminary discussions,” he said. “Currently they are underway and we hope to bring a conceptual plan forward to your committee. It is the EDC’s overall goal to ensure vibrancy in that district. We have obviously been watching the eventual development of Academy for quite some time with great interest. Our charge is to ensure the sustainability of our Grand List and having a vibrant, competitive, and differentiated town is important to that. We hope the community center would play a role in that but we want to make sure it is done in a fiscally responsible way.”
The Academy Dilemma in Brief
The Academy School building has been vacant for more than a decade and multiple administrations have struggled to find a popular solution for the building and its lot.
The parcel is 5.1 acres in the historic district and in the R-2 Residential Zone, which allows for single-family residential, municipal, educational, recreational, and religious uses. The building itself is 53,000 square feet with three floors, 16 classrooms, a gym, theater, kitchen, cafeteria, and music rooms. The building is also on the National Register of Historic places, which means there is a risk of litigation if the building is demolished.
Over the past decade, the town has formed numerous committees to try to determine what to make of the building.
The Ad Hoc Academy School Community Center Design Committee will be hosting its own public information sessions in the near future. Check the town website www.madisonct.org for a posting of the schedule and location.
The committee has also created an online questionnaire for Madison residents to rate their preferences for the types of features and facilities that they would like to see included in a proposed community center at the Academy School. Check the town website www.madisonct.org to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire closes on Wednesday, March 13.