HADLEY – The Russell School Committee hosted a public information session regarding the townwide survey on the best course of action for the Russel School building. The options currently on the table were presented, and a public comment section was included.

Committee member Dan Regish explained that the building was first erected in 1894 as the site of the original Hopkins Academy. In 1909 Hopkins Academy moved to a different location, and the building was renamed the Russell School, where it served as an elementary school until 1996.At this point it was decommissioned as a public school, but maintenance was still performed on the building throughout the early 2000’s, until the past decade when the town decided to start researching ideas for the building’s use or removal.

Regish said that although the building is old and in need of repairs, it was built to last, and that he supports preserving the building rather than demolishing it.

“The Russell School stands and is waiting for its proud owners to make sure that it is there for future residents of Hadley to use to celebrate the town’s 400 year anniversary in 2059 and beyond. I’ve been monitoring those telltale gauges [device used to measure the fortitude of a building’s foundation]. There has been very little movement, if any, in most areas…It’s amazing how strong this building is. There are no squeaks in the floor…it’s solid. It was designed so that much of the noise from classrooms wouldn’t transfer from room to room or floor to floor,” Regish said. “The building reports I have here clearly state that there is no deflection in the roof rafters. This building is still very strong. There is deterioration, and it will rapidly increase and get more costly to fix if we don’t take care of it now. But all in all, thanks to people like Gary Berg, who with very little to no budget have taken good care of this building, it is still strong and there’s plenty of time to take care of this now.”

Committee member Alan Weinberg summarized the survey and what people can expect.

“The main parts of the survey are asking people how much they would be willing to support various options. They’re not mutually exclusive; people can support more than one option, because we’re just trying to find out which ones make sense to pursue,” Weinberg said.

Weinberg said that the survey would be broken into two parts.

“The first question is ‘How important is it to you to preserve the Russell School Building?’ That’s a general question, and there are three answers: very important, somewhat important and not important at all,” he said.

The second portion of the survey asks Hadley residents decide which option they believe would be the best use of the building and the land it sits on. Weinberg explained these options and what they would mean.

“Retain and renovate for town use, stabilize building with CPA [Community Preservation Act] funds, lease to a nonprofit organization, lease to a private entity, sell to a nonprofit, sell to a private entity, demolish building and retain land, demolish building and sell land,” Weinberg said.

According to Weinberg, there are pros and cons of each option. Retaining the building for town use would come at a high cost to the town, with a wage requirement of $16 million, but it would be eligible for CPA funding. It could be turned into a community center, town or school offices.

Stabilizing the building with CPA funds would prevent further deterioration, and keep the structure standing while the town pursues public or private investment. The exterior work would be in the range of $1 million to $2 million.

Leasing the building to a nonprofit or private entity would allow a preservation restriction to be put in place, mandating the building’s continuance. The town would no longer own the building, but it could require right of first refusal in a future sale. Under this option, it would most likely be turned into housing, retail offices, a museum or a visitor center. The new owner could apply for CPA funding, state and federal grants, and would be granted certain tax incentives. If leased to a private entity, the town would receive revenue from local taxes. Some examples of this option being applied in real life are the Hatfield Center School and the Sunderland Town Hall.

Demolishing this school could have several outcomes. If kept as town property, the lot would be converted to parking or open space. If it is to be sold, Hadley will benefit from sales and tax revenue, but the demolition costs are estimated at over $700,000. With rising inflation and construction costs, this figure will likely increase.

The survey will be open until Jan. 5, 2023. All Hadley residents are encouraged to participate, and may do so online, or by reaching out to the Russell School Committee.