Select Board backs $85,000 warrant article for interim Peabody School operating costs

The Select Board voted April 28 to recommend a warrant article to fund up to $85,000 to cover carrying costs for the Peabody School property while the town studies long-term reuse.

Town staff said the request covers insurance, utilities and other carrying costs during an interim period after the school committee voted to surplus the building. Carrie (town staff presenter) told the board she had trimmed the request to $82,592 and suggested the item be rounded to $85,000 for the warrant; she also noted the largest line-item is insurance, about $21,000, and that utilities would be expected if the building is occupied. "The big cost for the facility if it's not occupied is the insurance cost, and the big cost if it is occupied are the utility cost," staff said.

The town is creating a land-use working group that will study Peabody and other municipal properties over the next 12-plus months; select board members and staff stressed the appropriation is an interim measure to keep the property insured and maintained while the group evaluates reuse options. The Select Board discussed funding sources and the town manager proposed using free cash or reappropriating surplus parking-meter funds as an alternative; staff noted parking-meter surplus would become free cash at fiscal year end if released by town meeting.

Select Board members agreed the request was appropriate as a one-year, interim expense and voted to place the $85,000 item in the warrant (Article 25). Board members also signaled they expect the land-use working group to consider potential users, costs and whether program revenues could offset future carrying costs.

Board members noted constraints on use of parts of the building — for example the elevator is inoperable, so second-floor uses would be limited unless the town fixes it — and said any long-term decision would be made only after the working group completed its review.