News
When
Options Collide
So
many buildings, so little money
By
Elizabeth Prata
Gray
and New Gloucester and the School District own many
buildings that contain inherent various cultural and
historical values. Their challenge of dealing with
owning a plethora of historic buildings and needing
to decide how to pay for maintenance and/or sell them
is the issue currently facing local elected officials.
The issue will soon face the citizenry as the officials
ask for money to support the budgets.
Currently,
the Town of Gray and the School District are discussing
how best to deal with the fact that the District owns
a historic building complex (Pennell Institute and
Lab) that is empty and has fallen into disrepair but
is much loved by certain segments of the citizenry.
The buildings are located at 22 Main Street in Gray.
Last
May, the Towns of New Gloucester, Gray, and the SAD
formed a committee to discuss the issues surrounding
the Pennell building. Issues include a hundred-year-old
trust that overlays any use of Pennell Institute and
Lab and is overseen by the Attorney General; the fact
that Gray used to own the buildings before the Sinclair
Act came along in 1963 and forced municipalities to
transfer it to the School District, the strategic
location of the complex, and the cultural issues in
proper stewardship of historical assets, and the emotions
within community factions claim that this or that
building must remain off the chopping block.
Meanwhile,
the SAD went ahead and sent a civil suit to the Attorney
General asking how to properly dispose of Pennell
while remaining true to the trust, which stipulates
that the building must be used for educational purposes.
The answer came back and included the term, 'fair
market value', which heightened Gray's anxiety because
there had been talk of giving the building back to
Gray for nearly free. Some members of the newly formed
Ad Hoc committee saw the suit as a offense against
the spirit heir charge.
The
SAD explained that the Attorney General (AG) is the
ultimate answer to all trusts in Maine and the SAD
was performing its diligence in asking the AG about
proper disposal. The Committee derailed for a while
under the indignant feelings and miscommunications.
They recently resumed their collegiality, decided
that the committee no longer needed to exist, and
charged the Gray Town Manager and Interim Superintendent
to continue the discussions. They have been working
closely together on the issue.
Under
consideration at this point is the idea that the Administrators
at Central Office and the staff at Gray Town Office
could move in together at Pennell Institute, downstairs.
Gray would own the building and the SAD would lease
back a portion of it. No ideas for upstairs use at
Pennell Institute nor the Pennell Lab have come forth.
Moving
into Pennell would mean that the Town would abandon
the current Town office. The SAD would abandon the
Central Office. The Central Office might have to revert
to Gray's ownership under the Sinclair Act, that fact
is being researched now. The Town authorized a purchase
of the old Post office Building next to Town office
for future Town Office expansions, and if the Town
office moves into Pennell, no ideas for Post Office
use has come forth. No ideas for use on the Central
Office have come forth. Using Pennell Institute for
meetings would efectively abandon Stimson Hall, the
main meeting place for the town.
The
Monument solicited comments from stakeholders
as to their position or thoughts on this complicated
issue. See following web pages.
