CHESHIRE — Mold and a leaky roof have forced town officials to seal off the original section of the former Cheshire Elementary School.
The Board of Health on Monday voted to close the original wing “deemed uninhabitable and unfit for human occupants,” the board wrote in a letter to the town that was read at Tuesday’s weekly Select Board meeting.
Stained ceiling tiles are prevalent in the original section of the vacant former school.
The closure comes after town officials toured the original wing late last week and found it in worse shape less than a month after the building previously was inspected. Municipal health officials said multiple roof leaks have caused water damage throughout the century-old wing.
“Two-and-a-half weeks ago, there was a puddle of water on the auditorium floor the size of my laptop. Last week, the entire floor was flooded,” Select Board Chairwoman Michelle Francesconi told The Eagle.
Noted the Board of Health in its letter: “The standing water and leaking roof has caused severe mold growth in retired classrooms, auditorium, hallways, bathrooms, etc.”
The latest problem with the nearly 100-year-old structure has the Select Board contemplating demolition rather than remediation — estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million — to salvage the building, circa 1923. The original wing of the 61,000-square-foot complex has asbestos and other hazards that need to be removed before it can be reused, according to town officials.
“Tearing it down is probably the cheapest thing to do,” Selectman Mark Biagini said at Tuesday’s meeting.
A wet classroom floor in the nearly 100-year-old building. The latest problem with the structure has the Select Board contemplating demolition rather than remediation — estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million — to salvage the building.
Cheshire and Adams residents voted in 2017 to close the school as part of a consolidation plan for the two-town Hoosac Valley Regional School District. Currently, two tenants — the school district central office and the youth center — are renting about half the building. The tenants are in the newest of the two wings, which were added in 1961 and 1995.
Several attempts have failed to find additional tenants, prompting the town to look at using the remaining half of the complex for municipal use. The current condition of the original building leaves uncertain the town potentially converting the empty space into more spacious, accessible municipal offices. In addition, the former school could house a new, larger community/senior center.
Water seeping into the original wing has jeopardized belongings the school district and youth center have stored in the basement. Town officials are giving both entities two weeks to remove the items, or they will be sealed off and inaccessible for good. The items must be taken out of the building, not relocated elsewhere within the school, for fear of spreading the mold.
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Original section of Cheshire Elementary School sealed off, faces possible demolition - Berkshire Eagle
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