The town facilities review committee Tuesday issued a recommendation that a $10 million renovation of the former Bantam School is warranted so the facility could continue to serve the town for decades to come. Selectmen tabled action on the request and plan to consider it May 3. Public comment was supportive of the idea of renovating the building. The committee’s recommendation includes a request to hire an architectural and engineering consultant to study the nearly 70-year-old building to determine how it could be renovated to best serve the town and what the cost of an upgrade would be. A consultant likely would cost about $200,000, Olmstead said. The committee recommends the fund that is used to maintain the building be tapped to pay for the consultant. The fund has a little less than $450,000 in it, First Selectman Denise Raap said.
