Task force recommends town buy Franklin property, says school could use the land

At a special task force meeting that began at 7:05 p.m., members said the Franklin Brothers property could meet several school needs and voted to recommend that the Board of Education pursue a town purchase of all four parcels.

The chair of the special meeting moved that the task force forward a response to the Board of Education saying the task force could utilize the property if it were purchased and recommending acquisition of all four parcels. The motion passed with the three voting members present — the chair, Hazel and Danny — voting in favor.

The property owner on the call, Carl Franklin, identified himself and described the site. “Oh, no. I'm the half owner of the Franklin Brothers property,” he said, and later told the group the sale would be a straight sale with no special restrictions. Participants said the site includes three relatively level parcels adjacent to the high school’s athletics areas and a fourth parcel containing an older house that slopes down and could require demolition and grading; the house parcel contains a well and septic.

Task force members discussed several potential uses if the town acquires the land, including relocating a softball field closer to campus, adding parking, siting a pool near the gym parking area, and space for additional baseball fields or a robotics facility. Chad argued against a piecemeal purchase, recommending a single acquisition: “my recommendation would be not to peacemeal it but just to acquire the entire parcel,” he said. Mark Romano, dialed in, told the group purchasing all parcels would likely ease planning and provide usable space for Fitch High School and district needs.

Participants discussed cost context and trade-offs. During the discussion the $320,000-per-acre asking price was mentioned as the figure under consideration; earlier field-relocation cost estimates discussed by the task force were described as approximate and would require further engineering and budgeting. Carl said the house parcel is in poor condition and might be demolished if necessary.

The task force instructed the chair to draft a letter summarizing the group’s assessment and recommendation and to send it to Mark for proofreading before forwarding it to the Board of Education. Members also received a brief update on project Phase One: a contract has been signed with Kent and Frost for landscape-architecture work, and mobilization for survey and geotechnical work is expected soon. The group set the next meeting for July 16 at 7:00 p.m., then adjourned.

What happens next: the chair will prepare and circulate the recommendation letter to Board of Education staff; any actual purchase and funding decisions remain with the town and the Board of Education.