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Negotiations over purchase of St. Sebastian school to contin
MIDDLETOWN — Negotiations over the purchase of St. Sebastian School will remain ongoing according to a vote Monday by the Economic Development Commission.
The motion, made by Councilman Joseph Bibisi and seconded by Councilman Robert Santangelo, asks for the Planning Department to revise an existing resolution before Monday’s Common Council meeting. The commission, as a whole, agreed that an outside assessment of the building must be done before moving forward with the purchase of the school.
Currently, the plan calls for the location of the current senior center, at 150 William St., to St. Sebastian School.
Last week, the Public Works Committee voted to move forward with negotiations but with conditions. Commissioners asked that the safety of the school — specifically the existing lead and asbestos levels — be identified, as well as potential grant sources to fund the project.
Director of Planning, Conservation and Development Bill Warner complied. Armed with an extensive 18-page packet, Warner addressed each concern in a well researched fashion.
In records obtained from the Fire Marshall’s office, Warner located a form indicating the installation of a new oil tank in 1986 by the city. The Fire Marshall’s records also indicate the tank was removed in 2007 and a new tank was installed. The soil beneath the tank was tested that same year and the CT Environmental Testing Center found no issues, Warner said.
“On Oct. 22, 2010, we walked through the building with a CT licensed lead and asbestos inspector and the city’s Chief Building Inspector. Based the the inspection it appears that the majority of asbestos has been abated. The wrap around the pipes and boiler has been replaced with fiberglass wrapping, we did not locate any 9” by 9” tiles, the windows are less than 20 years old and in very good condition,” Warner’s report states.
“The old chalkboards remain and contain asbestos, roofing materials may contain asbestos, the original ceiling tiles have been removed and a drop ceiling was installed but the glue daubs remain and could contain asbestos as well as other minor locations. The original plaster walls may also contain asbestos, but they were observed to be in good condition.”
Starting in 1990, the Federal government required all schools to inspect asbestos levels and have re-inspections every three years. According to Warner, the inspection reports have been requested from the broker.
The school also possessed an accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which required that the facility be “lead safe.”
“Therefore, we are quite confident there are no lead paint issues that would pose a threat to young children,” the report says.
Purchase of the property — located at 61 Durant Terrace — has been in negotiation for approximately seven weeks, since Mayor Sebastian Giuliano proposed the idea to a committee of several people including Director of Planning, Conservation and Development Bill Warner, Mayor’s Aide Bill Pillarella and Acting City Attorney Tim Lynch.
According to Warner, $190,000 in federal funding has been set aside for the project with an additional $60,000 from the council. If the city does not decide to go through with the purchase by early 2011, the property goes to St. Sebastian’s Church. From there, Warner said he expects it will be sold to one of several potential buyers currently interested in the property.
“One suitor personally sought me out and said they would defer if the City were interested (in purchasing) but if not, let them know,” Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said. “I don’t want to string anybody along; not the church, not the seniors, not the City.”
Giuliano and Warner said that the suitor is a non-profit agency, but would not divulge further details.
One of the major reasons why it has taken so long to reach a consensus regarding the purchase of the property is due to cost. The 13,000-square-foot property is worth approximately $1.3 million dollars, according to Lynch, though the asking price is currently $975,000.
However, there are a number of grant options available to the City if it chooses to move forward with the acquisition of St. Sebastian, Warner said. Among them are Connecticut Light and Power grants, Honeywell grants, and grants from the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a Phase I study of the property.
The City also receives approximately $500,000 per year in Community Development Block Grant funding. Improvements to the building for a senior center would be eligible for CDBG funding if the City can document that the citywide senior population (51 percent) of the clients served are low-to-moderate income ($45,000 for an individual and $55,000 for a family of two).
The CDBG funding also makes any Americans with Disabilities Act improvements to the building automatically accessible.
As the building currently stands, only the first floor is ADA accessible. In order for handicapped persons to reach the second floor, Warner said a single elevator will most likely need to be installed to comply with ADA regulations.
Many of the nearly three dozen veterans and seniors who spoke at the Public Works meeting Oct. 21 spoke in favor of creating the senior center on the ground level, while storage and City office spaces would go in on the second floor. The possibility of creating a military museum in the annex — a separate building on the lot — was also posed to the commissioners.
“I think we’re buying a fixer upper, here,” Councilman David Bauer said. “I’m very excited about the project but, as city officials, we have an obligation to assess the building.”
St. Sebastian School was founded in 1944, and occupies a property that was deeded to the Durant School district in 1873. Originally called Eckersley Hall, the building was purchased by St. Sebastian’s Church in the 1950s. The sales agreement predetermined that if the building stopped its role to educate, the city would have the right of “first refusal” to seize the building from the church.
St. Sebastian’s closed the school approximately one year ago, offering it to the City for $1.3 million.
“A year ago, the City said ‘we don’t need this building’ and now it fits the City’s needs,” Councilman Vinny Loffredo said. “But until this meeting no one had come to us beforehand and said the City needs A, B and C.”
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