'The People's Project'

The old high school at 200 Tyler St. should be sold. The town really needs the loot.

Or it should be turned into a new elementary school, effectively closing four schools. The education budget really needs some trimming.

Or it should house a smorgasbord of things: senior housing, teen center, arts center, professional offices. People really need these services.

Those competing ideas for the 1936 ramshackle building were discussed Thursday night when the 200 Tyler Street reuse committee met inside the former high school. The task force is splintered off into three groups, each passionately crafting and pushing their plans.

The one common thread is bringing in or saving the town money. Selling the whole shebang would likely result in the biggest boom to the town's tax base, while converting it into a school for fourth- through eighth-graders is touted to shave off a healthy amount of dough from the school budget.

It was Mayor April Capone's idea to create the reuse committee and to have the public make the final decision. The three ideas will be on the November ballot.

Sell it!

Real-estate agent Donna Richo sounded dead-set on her group's plan to sell the property to a developer because of the income it would generate. She said she's spoken with two developers; one wasn't interested but the other was. Richo pooh-poohed restoring the building into a school.

"We have too many schools," she said. She also disagreed with putting the issue out to referendum. "It's ridiculous," she said.

Senior Center Director Jan Lougal, who sits on the panel with Richo and Donald Santacroce, said she'd like to see affordable senior housing. While her grandson Mike Speer, also on the panel, agreed with housing, he did voice his opinion about the idea of a senior center.

"Worst idea is putting a senior center there," he said.

Besides, Speer said, "Whether we want it directed toward seniors, the developer is going to do what he wants." Barring zoning restrictions.

While acknowledging it's the developer's choice, panel members said if they had any say, they'd push to keep the building facade and build affordable housing.

Richo figured the property could bring in perhaps $1.5 million and become a very welcome guest on the town's tax rolls. The original building went up in 1936 under FDR's work programs. The wing which housed East Haven Academy, until last year's school reconfiguration when the program was brought to Joseph Melillo Middle School, was built in 1968. The last wing went up in 1973. There's also the swimming pool and gym facility.

New school

Another 200 Tyler Street subcommittee argued that its five- to 10-year plan to convert the old edifice into a new school for elementary-aged children would serve the town best.

"This is a valuable piece of property and the town should hold onto it," said Democratic Town Committee Chair Gene Ruocco, a subcommittee member.

He said the "whole purpose is to reduce the cost" of school operations. The plan calls for reducing the number of schools from the current nine to five, by creating three regional elementary schools -- one each in the southern, northern and central districts, to include 200 Tyler St. That would mean getting rid of four principals and lowering maintenance and utility costs in the schools no longer used. It would also house middle-school kids when Joseph Melillo undergoes renovation, said Ruocco.

Others on the school panel include Norm DeMartino, Claire DiMartino, a former Board of Education member, Dave Hausler and Magdalen Sparaco. They said they're looking into state and federal grants to rehab the old school.

A  smorgasbord of stuff

"Everybody's got their own opinion and are passionate about what they want," said Fred Marotti, East Haven Arts Commission chair. "And I'm passionate about arts."

Marotti's panel, which includes local attorney Mike Albis, state Rep. James Albis, Town Councilman Vincent Camera, Judge Anthony DeMaio and Kevin White, is promoting a patchwork of ideas.

They envision a mix of public and private uses generating various sources of income for the town, which would still own the property and rent out space. One wing could be made into a professional building for doctors and the like, said Marotti. The second and/or third floors of the original structure could be senior condos.

On the non-income side, Marotti said the teen center on Frontage Road could be moved there as could the senior center on Taylor Street. And the first floor of the 1936 building could serve as offices for municipal commissions and boards.

But most important to the arts commission chair would be the creation of East Haven's first full-fledged cultural arts center. Fine and performing arts classes could be offered for a fee. The auditorium used for plays and other performances.

"The town really needs this," he told this reporter while touring the outside of 200 Tyler St., pointing out what could go where.

"This building would be a travesty to have someone knock it down," said Marotti. "It's structurally beautiful." Asked about the cost to renovate, he said he's talked with a construction company about an estimate, but wouldn't identify the firm since no agreement has yet been made.

In response to Richo's assertion that a  referendum is "ridiculous," Marotti said, "This is a project that the whole town should be involved with. It should be the people's project."

Thursday's committee meeting was the fifth held so far, with three more to go. The fleshed-out ideas then go to Capone and then onto the November ballot.