HOLLIS — A vote coming up next week in Hollis has the potential, once and for all, to decide whether an old high school building that has stood since 1942 will remain, or fall under the wrecking ball.
A referendum on Tuesday will place the fate of the old Hollis High School in residents’ hands. The building, which some see as a historic asset for the town, has been on the open market for over a year; but according to Meg Gardner, interest has been minimal, and the few individuals or businesses who have made offers have submitted asking prices too low to consider.
The building is currently owned by Maine School Administrative District 6, which has expressed a desire to be rid of it.
Gardner, who is vice president of the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society, has been at the forefront of a campaign to have the town assume ownership of the building, claiming it would make a viable space for a community center, or housing for town offices. Also a founding member of the Community Heritage Alliance of Rural Maine, Gardner is the author of Tuesday’s referendum ”“ which, if passed, would compel Hollis to take responsibility for the building; set aside $20,000 from the town’s undesignated fund balance for initial expenses; create a dedicated revenue account for the building; and form an adjunct committee to oversee aspect’s of the building’s rehabilitation.
The town has held a number of public forums on the issue, the most recent on Wednesday, but Gardner said the forums only serve to highlight the divisiveness of the issue.
“They just deteriorate into these horrible sessions,” she said.
Residents have voted once before on this very issue, in a June 2011 referendum. At that time, voters narrowly rejected a plan to convert the school into a town-owned community center.
Since then, CHARM and the Historical Society have promoted the building as suitable for both municipal and commercial purposes; but Gardner admits that its rural location might make it a tough sell to prospective commercial developers.
“The location, for many businesses, probably isn’t particularly favorable,” she said.
The position of selectmen, meanwhile, is simple: They don’t want it.
Chairman Ben Severance said Tuesday that, even if the referendum passes, the town may not be obligated to follow it, because Gardner and her fellow petitioners did not have the article reviewed by an attorney before submitting it, as is typically required in these scenarios.
The real estate agent’s contract to seek a buyer for the building expires on Monday, June 9, the day before the vote. If the article is rejected, Severance said a contract extension would be granted through the end of the month, and if a buyer isn’t found before that time, the old school will simply be torn down.
He said the CHARM group has been chasing an unrealistic goal.
“It’s pathetic, what they have gone through to try to get us to take it back,” said Severance.
Location aside, the same issues that make Hollis High School unappealing to business make it unappealing to the town, he said, chief among them the cost of rehabilitating the building. Water is seeping into the structure, he said, and it experiences a high degree of heat loss, “which would make utilities a nightmare.” It’s also not handicap accessible.
Severance said a contractor estimated that close to $700,000 would be needed for repairs. At this point, he said, the land is more valuable to the town than is the structure itself.
“This CHARM group has fond memories,” he said. “Now, all they remember is what a wonderful place Hollis High School is.
“I appreciate those fond memories. But, at this point, you have to let them go. It’s not going to be a fond memory for taxpayers, that’s for sure.”
Lester Harmon, a Hollis resident, said the town is being shortsighted in its dismissal of utilizing the building for community purposes.
“I, as a resident of this town, wish that my town would just accept the building back,” wrote Harmon in an email. “There are so many possible uses for the building. One in particular that stands out to me is that our town would greatly benefit from having a community center that can offer teens a place to hang out after school, and the community as a whole to have a place to go for meetings and gatherings.”
Gardner said the vote could go either way.
“It’s such a complicated issue,” she said, “and it’s really hard to make any predictions. I don’t know, really, what’s going to happen.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less