NORTH STONINGTON — When officials return from the New Year’s Day holiday weekend, there will be a lot of business to finish at the North Stonington Education Center.
The town remains in the final stages of negotiations with Lighthouse Voc-Ed Center for the one-story wing of the center, which was turned over from the Board of Education to town government earlier this year, and has not yet found a suitable tenant for the two-story wing of the building. Completing both those tasks will be essential in helping the town to offset growing expenditures on the property that have more than exceeded expectations.
First Selectman Michael Urgo said he is confident that the town will formally enter a lease agreement with Lighthouse on the one-story former middle school wing. He said the process has been delayed by the holidays, but that both the town and center remain focused on completing a deal and allowing access to the new tenants within the first few weeks of the year.
“We have reached a tentative agreement, but it is my understanding that it has not gone before their board of directors yet,” Urgo said Thursday. “The holidays have made it difficult to get [board members] together, but we still expect to enter a deal just after the start of the new year.”
Urgo said the decision to seek approval for the lease through referendum slowed the process some, and a desire to hold negotiations the right way further delayed any opportunity for a quick leasing of the property.
No details have been released on the expected lease, but conditions will be made public once Lighthouse has officially signed the documents.
With completion of the lease, the town will have filled the smaller of two spaces available in the building. Members of the Board of Selectmen will have their work ahead of them, however, as the town’s first effort to garner proposals ended without a single bidder. The property, which is deeded to the town through the Wheeler School and Library, must be used for educational purposes only, limiting the potential tenants for the property.
Urgo said he anticipates discussing the matter in detail during the upcoming Board of Selectmen meeting during the second week of January, saying the board will likely need to to consider a marketing strategy in order to find a strong partner for the community.
“We want to make sure we are doing this right and bringing in a tenant who will be a good neighbor and provide new opportunities for the community at that location.”
In the meantime, the town will need to look at ways to offset growing costs at the North Stonington Education Center. Selectman Bob Carlson expressed concerns last week after it was revealed that the $7,500 expense allotted in the current fiscal budget for building maintenance had already ballooned to over 500% of that cost.
Carlson said the town was not prepared to take on this cost, urging that the matter go back before the taxpayers with a plan on how to reduce expenses, both in the short and long term. He also requested a joint meeting with the Board of Finance be held on this matter right after the start of the year.
Urgo said there were no formal meetings scheduled as of Wednesday, but said he planned to work with other officials to get one scheduled as soon as possible once the holiday season draws to a close.
“I think that will be an important step in looking at the best way to address this, but there are still a lot of unknowns including with potential revenues and expenditures moving forward,” Urgo said. “We are going to have to work together to come up with the right solutions here.”
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January 03, 2021 at 08:55AM
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Delays in lease, lack of bidders at North Stonington Education Center set up busy 2021 - The Westerly Sun
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