Public Open House and Discussion

FACTS

-The Town is budgeting $115,000 in the upcoming budget for the basic maintenance of HES for the next year.
-The Capital budget includes $400,000 for a new roof.
-The Town has $480,000 in state funding for a new roof and playground.

-The inefficient oil-fired boilers are nearing the end of their useful life and there is no central air conditioning.
-The property has been listed for sale or lease on Loop Net, a nationwide commercial listing site, for 2 years with no serious interest.
-The HES building is 45,000 sq.ft. It is made up of individual classrooms, a gym, library administrative offices and a multi-purpose room.

-Utilizing the building for other purposes is challenging due to the extent and cost of renovations.
-The “old section” is 12,000 sq.ft. of classrooms and 8,000 sq.ft of library, multi-purpose room and the former principal office.
-The current Senior Center, Community Center and Town Hall Annex are approximately 6,000 sq.ft. These facilities are inadequate for a town of Haddam’s size.

-At this point there is no funding allocated for a senior/community center.

The town needs to make decisions before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new roof.