P&Z OKs permits for Hinsdale School renovation project

WINSTED — The Planning & Zoning Commission Monday granted a special permit to the town and school district for renovation and new construction at the nowclosed Mary P. Hinsdale Elementary School, including restoration of the natural flow of a brook that flows through a culvert under a portion of the building.

The commission had no discussion on the application, and passed the motion unanimously, then voted to hold a public hearing on the plan Aug. 24.

The permit approval is another step in a long process for the Hinsdale School project.

Residents approved the $17.43 million school renovation plan in a referendum in September 2019. Officials focused on the Hinsdale School instead of renovating Batcheller Elementary School, with Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanley noting last year that Hinsdale is more structurally sound and in a preferable location.

The plan includes adding a new play area and 7,700 square feet of new classroom space; removing an original portion of the building to eliminate the culvert that runs under the school; and replacing sidewalks, paving, curbing, ceilings and floors that are in poor condition.

The Hinsdale School closed in 2016, after the Winchester public school district was put in the

hands of a state-appointed receiver, Robert Travaglini, in 2015, appointed by state Department of Education Commissioner Diana Wentzell. The receiver took over duties handled by the Winchester Board of Education and thenSuperintendent

Anne Watson, as well as a variety of other administrative responsibilities and working with staff and educators.

Travaglini decided to close Hinsdale after the 2016-17 school year. He said at the time that the decision would save the district approximately $340,000 per year, and

cited concerns about health effects stemming from the brook that runs under the building. A plan to divert that waterway away from the school was put in place as part of the renovation plan.

That same year, Travaglini resigned from the post for health reasons. Former Shelton Superintendent of Schools Freeman Burr replaced him to oversee day-to-day activities in the district in October of that year.

Winchester schools exited the receivership in 2017. Not long after that, the school board decided to conduct its own research on the shuttered Hinsdale School, including finding cost estimates for renovations and improvements; conducting a public survey; and holding community forums. Members said at the time that they felt the decision to close the circa-1950 building

was done without adequate research. A school building committee also was appointed.

The school board and building committee are awaiting word from the state on when funding will be awarded for the project. In October 2019, BradyShanley received a letter from the state confirming the project to renovate the Hinsdale School will be placed on the priority school list. The letter was from the Department of Administrative Services, which said the list will be sent to the governor’s office by mid-December.

“Having (the state) visit the Hinsdale School, support our building plan, and commit to putting our renovation on the state’s priority list for the governor’s review and approval is great news for this much needed project,” building committee member Tony Sandonato said

in a statement. “Our committee hopes ... (the state’s) support will help expedite our building timeline.”

Such decisions have been on hold since the pandemic closed the state in March.

The Gilbert School

The school plan was complicated in 2019 when the Gilbert School Corp., the semi-private high school that provides education to Winsted students in grades 9-12, took action against Winchester Public Schools in a request involving about five acres behind the Hinsdale School where the playground and athletic fields are located.

Two parcels were deeded to the town by the Gilbert Corp. in 1944 and 1955. The deed requires the town to use the property “for school purposes.” Because the land no longer was being used properly,

Gilbert officials said, it should revert back to them.

At that time, Gilbert School Corp. asked the town to “provide a quit claim deed (to Gilbert) in exchange for a lease.” The lease, according to the letter, would cost the town $1 a year for use of the property for up to 35 years.

In response, Winchester town attorney Kevin Nelligan said “the two deeds do not require the town to transfer the property back to Gilbert.”

If Gilbert were to take back the land, officials said at the time, the entire site plan for the Hinsdale renovation would have to be redesigned.

The Gilbert School Corp. filed a civil suit in April 2019. Brady-Shanley said Tuesday that she could not comment on the suit because of ongoing litigation.