LYNN — The Lynn City Council and School Committee debated the fate of the former Thurgood Marshall Middle School during a special council meeting Tuesday night.
The two Lynn boards have been at odds over the issue in past weeks. The City Council wants to transfer the Porter Street property to the city, with an intent for it to eventually be sold, so it is no longer the school’s responsibility.
However, the School Committee is opposed to that plan because there is not much land left in the city to build new schools, which its members say is a priority.
Members of both boards, along with other city officials, expressed their concerns and desires regarding the property.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino said that the asbestos and deterioration inside the building makes maintaining the property for the future use of a school unrealistic.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee, who is chairman of the School Committee, retained his previous position, favoring the council’s recommendation to sell the property, stating that the costs to renovate and maintain the property would be too much.
The site was originally estimated to cost $2-3 million to tear down. The price increased to about $9 million over the last few years, due to the fires that have occurred inside, the leak in the ceiling that has destroyed the walls, floors and ceiling tiles and the asbestos throughout the building.
City Council President Darren Cyr agreed with the School Committee regarding the lack of land to build on, but stated that the location on Porter Street is not great for a school building, due to the density of the neighborhood and the one-way streets surrounding the area.
He wants to create a committee, made up of two City Council members and two School Committee members, and bring in an outside source to tell them where the city should build new schools.
“Any money we get from this property can go towards building a new school and paying people to tell us where to do this,” Cyr said.
Lynn Fire Chief Stephen Archer and Interim Police Chief Leonard Desmarais both spoke on their experience with the building and the dangers that it presents to their co-workers and the public.
Archer said that the location is a prime target for vandals, who he said are to blame for the 23 fires that were started inside. Desmarais said that they often receive calls to that property regarding activity occurring outside of the building.
Cyr said the site has now become a regular location for drug activity, breaking and entering resulting in destruction of the property, and a temporary home for homeless people.
Those reasons contribute to the request to give the property to the city, which is supported by the City Council, McGee and Bertino. Bertino identified the building as a liability to the School Committee and city.
“It’s a liability because it’s an uninsurable property that’s been deemed hazardous,” Bertino said. “We’ve spent countless hours with public safety responding to calls, fixing boarded windows, all of which comes out of the school side of the maintenance budget, because it is still in the custody of the school.”
Michael Donovan, the city’s chief of inspectional services and building commissioner, said the school is in horrible shape, since it hasn’t been occupied since 2016 and was originally the second worst school in the Commonwealth.
“The building will deteriorate day after day,” he said. “Every day that goes by, every weather event that happens, the building will be in worse condition and the price for the city will go up.”
School Committee members Donna Coppola, Jared Nicholson, and Michael Satterwhite expressed their concerns regarding the lack of available land in the city. They were concerned that if the school loses that land, the city will have nowhere left to build a new school, which they said is needed since 12 school buildings are more than 100 years old.
Nicholson suggested restarting the process of voting on tearing down the building, in hopes of getting rid of the liability it presents without declaring the property surplus.
Coppola said she knows that they are in dire need of space and need to bring schools up to par.
“It’s the only piece of property that we know of that we could possibly use for a school,” she said, noting that she respects the fire and police chiefs concerns but is worried about the fate of the Lynn schools, and the potential for an early childhood center and a new Pickering Middle School. “These two bodies (City Council and School Committee) together need to come up with a plan.”
Cyr said that if the City Council and School Committee can work together, they can put together a Request for Proposals (RFP) and work with developers to sell the property. He said once developers buy the property, they will take it over immediately and free it from the school’s possession. He and McGee agreed that the building is no longer safe.
“My biggest fear is knocking on the door of a firefighter’s family telling them he’s not coming home,” Cyr said, when discussing the lack of electricity and falling debris inside the building.
Members of the School Committee and City Council expressed their appreciation for working together on the issue and having an open discussion on the options and condition of the building. They said they will continue that partnership and come together to figure out how to move forward and have a broader discussion in future sessions.
