THE OLD Hurd School building on Cordis Street is one of the underutilized municipal properties that the town discussed by the Town Council at its October 21, 2024 meeting. (Mark Sardella Photo)
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The Town Council last night had a wide-ranging discussion on the status and future of a number of town-owned properties, including 5 Common St., the Hurd School, the ACE Center on Albion Street and a parcel of contaminated town land on Butler Avenue.
Without getting into the legal history of the Butler Avenue property, Town Engineer Willian Renault was on hand to discuss plans for the parcel moving forward.
Renault said that plans have been submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection for the capping of the contaminated portion of the property. The DEP has said that capping is acceptable as long as that portion of the property is reserved only for passive recreation. Approximately five or six of the 11 acres was contaminated back in the 1970s by the dumping of some old building material that contained asbestos. That area would be capped and replanted, Renault said.
He said that the town is looking to move forward with that recapping project soon – possibly over the coming winter.
That would leave about 3.5 acres of developable land, Renault said. He outlined some options and routes that the town could take with respect to that portion of the property in the future.
Town Council chairman Michael McLane said that he had his own ideas for how the remaining area could be used, but stressed that the process was just starting and promised that there would be “a lot of public input” into the decision-making process.
Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio added that the Town needed to know how the contaminated area was going to be handled before it could evaluate future uses of the remaining portion of the site.
Regarding the Hurd School building, Maio noted that there were public discussions about a decade ago related to the future of the Hurd, but that process was put on hold because it wasn’t clear at the time if the town would need the building for other purposes.
Maio said that the building needs a lot of work, including lead paint remediation. He said that new public meetings on the future of the building will likely take place early next year.
There was some discussion of using the Hurd as a Town Hall, but Renault and Maio said that the building was too small and there was insufficient parking. Town Councilor Douglas Butler added that having a town hall off in the middle of a residential neighborhood made little sense.
There was also some discussion of 5 Common St., which currently serves as a Town hall annex, and the Albion Cultural Exchange building.
Both buildings have underused upper floor space due to the accessibility issues and the lack of an elevator. Renault said that he was working on a plan to make the entrance of the ACE center accessible, but adding an elevator would cost about $1 million.
Several board members stressed that the town should have a cohesive plan that looks at the future of all the aforementioned town properties together.
Renault was also asked about the planned re-striping of North Avenue for a bike lane. Renault said that the work has been delayed and will now likely happen in November.
