Adams Officials Approve Term Sheet for Memorial Building Renovation
Michael Mackin speaks to the Selectmen on Wednesday. Mackin was the only bidder on redevelopment of the Memorial Building earlier this year. Town meeting members will vote on authorizing the sale Tuesday.
Town meeting members will be asked to authorize the Selectmen to sell the school to Michael Mackin for $50,000 and negotiate a lease for a portion of the building that includes the gym and auditorium. The town has long planned to move the Council on Aging to the building and to continue to use it as a voting and meeting location.
"This term sheet is really just the first step toward the eventual redevelopment of the building," Community Development Director Eammon Coughlin told the board at its meeting Wednesday. "We've discussed with Mr. Mackin that he's going to provide a very long-term lease to the town. The initial term will be 20 years, with two 10-year options to extend the lease as possible. So potentially 40 years."
Coughlin said the term sheet laid out the basic framework for the purchase-and-sale agreement and lease, which are still being negotiated.
While the board had initially considered owning the gym and auditorium, Mackin will need to own the entire building to secure financing.
He's agreed to tackle the bathrooms in the gym area that have prevented the town from fully using the structure and kept Council on Aging at the Visitors Center.
Mackin, who was at the meeting, is estimating it will take $1 million to fix the bathrooms and make other improvements in the section of the vacant school building. He's expecting at least $11 million to renovate the entire structure, which will include 25 apartments and commercial space in the cafeteria.
"Once the sale of the building is finalized, we will ramp up over a three-year period to a lease payment of $50,000 per year," said Coughlin. "That lease payment of $50,000 can be negotiated down if the town is able to secure grants for the building and for the larger projects. Mr. Mackin has generously agreed to support ... our community center vision for the building."
The payments would zero the first year, $25,000 the second and then $50,000. Coughlin noted that over 20 years that would come to $1 million, about what Mackin will have to invest. One aspect of the deal would be not to oppose an alcohol license for any restaurant or tavern in the commercial space.
The property is being split into two parcels to separate the Valley Street field, which will remain in town hands. The monument park in front of the school on Columbia Street is not part of the property.
"We get inquiries about using the gymnasium and the auditorium quite frequently," said Chair John Duval. "And so this will allow further use by community groups ... And what's been holding us up is the completion of the bathrooms, which need to meet the standards of today."
He said he was looking forward to improvements to the entrance to the downtown. He and other town officials had met with Council on Aging members to explain what was happening.
"It was a pretty big crowd, and there's at least 20 or 30 people there," Duval said. "I think we addressed all the concerns. There wasn't a lot of negativity about, I think, the terms were about the redevelopment itself. So it seemed to be healthy. Yeah, very good questions. No animosity. People are just curious."
Mackin said he was ready to go once the papers are inked: "We're ready. We're shovel ready to go in there right to start."
He said he'd had a walkthrough with a window supplier and estimated it will take a million dollars just to replace the 72-year-old single-pane windows. It was a 12-week window between ordering and delivery so "time is of the essence," he said.
The goal is to keep the exterior integrity by using similar-sized but more energy-efficient windows. Mackin said he'll probably be pursuing historic and energy grants as well.
Board members Joseph Nowak and Ann Bartlett asked about contamination, particularly mold and, from Nowak, the possibility of pollution from former storage of gas for streetlights on the site. He said he would look further into it.
Mackin said the school will be gutted so any issues will be dealt with. Coughlin noted the town received a $500,000 brownsfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"We'll be using that grant to target the building for some more assessment work, both that phase one and that hazardous materials survey need to be updated because they're over a decade old at this point," he said.
Mackin said he was looking at 25 units of which 20 percent will be affordable for low income, in response to comments on the lack of housing.
"It will help a little bit ... this will be a balance, this will be a mix so I think it will help," he said, adding, "I think it's a good project, it's going to be a good project for the town."
In other business, the Selectmen, acting as the Licensing Board, approved a host of annual alcohol, entertainment, inn and auto licenses dependent on payment taxes. Selectwoman Christine Hoyt, making the motions, pointed out that tax bills have recently gone out so not all entities have paid yet. For the licenses for Bascom Lodge, the motions also added that it pass an inspection before opening in the spring.
Firehouse Cafe on Park Street has closed and indicated it would not be renewing its licenses.
• The board approved the second reading of a public records request policy that designates the town clerk as the records officer. Nowak said he believed it was response to his requests to see the resumes of the applicants for finance director. Hoyt said this policy task had begun last winter because the board did not have one in its handbook. It was not completed before the former town counsel retired.
Duval cut off Nowak several times for going off topic and Nowak responded that he asks for things to be put on the agenda for discussion "and you don't put them on."
• The board also approved a change in address for 0 East Orchard Terrace to become 43 East Orchard and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor said dog license reminders will go out with the town census in January. She didn't feel a need fee changes so neutered dogs will be $10 and unneutered $20. The town has between 800 and 850 dogs.
• Dan Berger of North Adams gave a brief introduction of cannabis business Grassp Ventures LLC, which is seeking to expand to Adams. He said he recently signed a host community agreement with Salem and is working to open a courier business in North Adams.
• The board tabled a vote on an interim town administrator contract with Ken Walto, former Dalton town manager, as discussions are ongoing. The board spent an hour in executive session on Wednesday related to the contract.
Tags: housing, memorial building,
