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Residents press board over Stephen Palmer eviction timing as School Committee retains jurisdiction
Summary
Stephen Palmer residents told the Select Board they were misled about the building’s post‑lease jurisdiction and complained about an early eviction; the School Committee voted to retain jurisdiction of the building after lease expiry and asked the Select Board to manage the short-term tenant wind‑down via an MOA.
Several Stephen Palmer residents used the public comment period to urge the Select Board to explain why tenants were asked to vacate months before the ground lease ends and to request better treatment for remaining seniors.
Judith McIntyre (Speaker 2), a Stephen Palmer resident, told the board she and other tenants were surprised to learn the Stephen Palmer building will revert to the School Committee when the 1977 ground lease ends on May 2, 2027. McIntyre said that, had town meeting voters known of the jurisdictional arrangement, a prior warrant vote to allocate funds for early eviction would have played out differently and called some actions “misleading.”
At the joint meeting, staff reported the School Committee voted unanimously on July 13 to retain jurisdiction of the property and to request that the Select Board assume management responsibility at the lease’s conclusion to "wind down" existing residential uses. The School Committee also authorized preparation of an MOA to document coordination between the two boards.
Select Board members asked that any MOA be narrowly tailored to clarify short‑term responsibilities—particularly the immediate task of managing existing tenants and lease wind‑down—so the town manager and DPW understand from whom they should take direction and avoid inadvertently becoming a long‑term landlord. Board members asked staff to provide the Stephen Palmer committee’s consultant deliverable (a building conditions/estimates report) to the School Committee and to share prior visioning work so future planning does not start from scratch.
Town staff said tenants currently have leases through Oct. 31, 2026, and the town is preparing for scenarios that could include occupants remaining at various times before the May 2027 lease end. Board members stressed they want clear, limited authority in any MOA—focused on tenant transition and facility management during the lease wind‑down—rather than broad long‑term custodianship.
Next steps: staff will draft a narrowly scoped MOA for review and provide the consultant conditions/estimate report to the School Committee and Select Board.
