Town offers old police station as school renovation home
BETHEL — The old police station could be home for a construction office during renovations to the elementary schools.
Rizzo Corporation, which is renovating Rockwell and Johnson elementary schools, plans to rent the former police headquarters for a $1 a year for the next two years.
The Plumtrees Road station is near the school campus and crews could park and store equipment on the site.
“It’s a convenient place to put all that stuff because the school campus itself is so heavily utilized,” First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said. “It’s pretty crowded. It is going to be disruptive enough for the little kids in the elementary schools.”
The town plans to hold a public hearing to discuss the lease at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the middle school auditorium, just before the 7 p.m. public hearing on the
$78.5 million budget proposal.
Under the lease agreement, the town would pay for water, sewer, heat and electricity, while Rizzo would cover telephone, internet and the removal of snow and garbage.
Renovations on the $65.8 million elementary schools project are expected to start in the spring.
The old police station has been vacant since October, when officers moved into their new headquarters.
The town does not have a plan for the station once the lease is up, Knickerbocker said.
A few potential buyers have asked to check out the property, but the concrete building might have asbestos and likely would not be conducive to a modern office, he said.
“This is just very, very preliminary,” Knickerbocker said. “There are some real challenges with the building.”
His recommendation would be to demolish the building and possibly use the space for parking.
“It is in a floodplain,” Knickerbocker said. “There is not much you can do with it.”