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Sabattus building committee proposes community survey as reuse options for primary school
Summary
A volunteer building committee reported a school walkthrough and proposed a community survey to explore repurposing the primary school as a community center, library space, fitness/gym use and small-business incubation; committee expects an appraisal and to present options to voters at a future meeting.
A Sabattus building committee told the select board it is preparing a community survey to gather resident input about reusing the recently decommissioned primary school.
Committee members, who completed a walkthrough of the empty building, described functional systems still operating (heating, large walk‑in freezers) and said the site “still holds potential” despite trash and leftover classroom items. The committee proposed possible uses including senior programming, recreation and gym space, enrichment rooms, a small‑business incubator or a food pantry. The group plans to circulate a townwide survey by next Tuesday and expects to collect paper copies for residents without internet access.
Committee representatives said they were arranging a commercial appraisal to confirm market value (the town assessor’s preliminary figure was cited around $2 million) and exploring grants that might support renovation. They acknowledged repairs and cleanup remain, including damage estimates in the low thousands and unresolved maintenance items such as condensation and air circulation concerns in the kitchen and freezer areas.
Board members and committee volunteers discussed logistics for cleaning and staging classroom contents, potential insurance questions if the gym were opened to outside groups, and whether some building features could house fire department living quarters with exterior apparatus storage — an option the fire chief and staff have discussed previously but which would require significant retrofitting. Town staff will contact the insurer to determine coverage conditions if groups sought to use the gym; the board said it would place gym‑rental insurance terms on a future agenda if appropriate.
Next steps: the building committee will finalize and distribute the survey, pursue a commercial appraisal and return to the board with refined cost estimates and grant opportunities before recommending a course of action or placing a question before voters.
