Voters agreed to take a hard look at the Allenstown Elementary School before purchasing it for $1 and turning it into a new town hall and community center.
The last two questions on the ballot Tuesday asked voters to approve buying the school for a dollar, which passed by nearly a 3-to-1 margin, 174-62; and whether to raise $100,000 to evaluate the cost of renovating the building, which passed by a 2-to-1 margin, 158-76.
“The people overwhelmingly approved studying whether we should purchase that building for the multiple uses that we want to do,” said Town Administrator Derik Goodine.
Town officials want to convert the 33,000-square-foot elementary school into a new town hall and community center with a gymnasium and meeting area, and lease leftover space to businesses.
An advantage of Tuesday’s vote is it gives the town time to plan its next steps since the students will still be attending classes there until 2023.
“We don’t have to hurry to get it done,” Goodine said. “It really gives us all kinds of time to see what the study bears out and come back next year.”
Last year, voters approved building a new school on River Road, which will house students from kindergarten to eighth grade. The school is expected to open in the fall of 2023, leaving the existing middle school and elementary schools vacant.
The chance to design a new school while also re-purposing an existing building in the community center is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a small town like Allenstown.
“Just in terms of the quality of life issues with the playground and the open space, we believe we have a pretty good case already,” Goodine said.
Goodine estimates the cost of evaluating the building and conducting a market study to gauge business interest in leasing space would be about $10,000. If voters agree to move forward at next year’s town meeting, the remaining $90,000 would be put toward renovation.
At the town’s deliberative session last month, Goodine said building a structure the size of the elementary school would cost millions of dollars, while the cost of renovation would be a fraction of the cost.
But not everything is a done deal. The school board must also vote to sell the building to the town for $1 and Goodine expects a more formal proposal at next year’s town meeting.
“I think they will ultimately approve it, but time will tell,” Goodine said.
Another item that could come up next year is what to do with the aging Dupont School, which will also become vacant and is in greater need of repair. However, the town has no current plans for the school.
Voters passed all other items on the ballot, including the $4.5 million operating budget. That vote was the closest of the night with 126 people voting yes and 101 people voting no.
For two seats on the board of selectmen, both incumbents Maureen Higham and Jim Rodger were easily re-elected.
On the school side of the ballot, Kelsey Menelaus-Charest won an open seat on the school board, beating challenger John Childs.
Voters narrowly approved the $12.1 million operating budget and an extra $83,000 to hire a new teacher at the elementary school.