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Public Input Sought for Pierson’s Future

Do you have an opinion on what the future should look like for the Pierson School? If so, make sure to attend the public meeting on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Pierson School. The time of the meeting is yet to be determined.

The public meeting—officially called a charrette— will be run by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). At the Oct. 9 Board of Selectman (BOS) meeting, the board approved a motion to execute a $7,500 contract with CERC.

“This will help drive the town through the process and through the Planning & Zoning Commission,” First Selectman Christine Goupil said.

The charrette is intended as a chance for the public to weigh in on the kinds of uses they’d like to see at the property. That feedback could then be used by the Planning & Zoning Commission to revise the regulations that concern the property. According to Goupil, without doing a charrette, the town would have to rely on only what the market would bear in terms of a proposed use.

“We’re hoping for heavy participation,” she said.

In November 2018, after being presented the results of a facility needs study, the Board of Education voted to close the Pierson School, which served grades 4 and 5. The committee cited rising costs and declining enrollment as reasons to close the school. In November 2019, the town will take control of the building from the Board of Education.

To help determine what the use of the building should be, the town formed the Pierson Study for Future Use Committee. Informal discussion about what to do with the property have included commercial uses, housing, or converting the building into a senior center. Goupil said in the past that there has been some commercial interest already in the property. The committee has said that the estimated timeline for finding a use for the site would take about 18 months total.

The town is planning to keep the building open during the winter for use by the Parks & Recreation Department to run the basketball leagues in town.