Kennebec Journal - Wednesday, October 26, 2006
Hallowell - A field of possibilities
If the old elementary school property off Lincoln Street were transformed into a park and playground, it would cost Hallowell homeowners an extra $7, based on the city's 2005 tax rate.
If the city sold the property and a developer built 27 homes on the 9-acre parcel, taxpayers would gain $6 a year.
Those findings are in a report land-use consultant Holly Dominie of Readfield compiled for Friends of Vaughan Field, an independent citizens' organization.
Kennebec Journal - Tuesday, September 19, 2006
School property cleanup issues aired
The Property Committee on Monday recommended that the city pay a contractor to haul away the concrete piers and cement blocks that once supported the portable classrooms at the old primary school.
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Maine School Administrative District 16 is handing the property over to the city of Hallowell. As part of the agreement, the School Board has agreed to pay Ellis Construction Inc. of Farmingdale $11,400 to fill the concrete foundation in with dirt.
Capital Weekly - Thursday, September 7, 2006
Fate of old Hall-Dale school to be determined
Students and staff have started the school year in the new Hall-Dale Elementary School while the fate of the old Hall-Dale Primary School and its Lincoln Street property remains in question.
It has been a source of discussion and debate between city officials and concerned citizens for well over a year, but nothing has yet to be decided. However, that is all about to change as the wheels of its disposition began to roll this week with the official opening of the new school on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
According to Don Siviski, superintendent of schools for School Administrative District 16, a protocol must be followed to turn the old school back to the city, which will then decide what to do with the property. That protocol, Siviski said, begins with a school board vote that was slated for a 5:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the new school.
Kennebec Journal - Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Field of dreams
A community group trying to initiate a citywide discussion about what to do with the old school property on Lincoln Street received $1,500 from a foundation that focuses on community activism and environmental issues.
The grant will be used to organize and educate Hallowell residents about the importance of saving one of the city's last remaining urban green spaces, according to Linn Perkins Syz, program administrator for New England Grassroots Environment Fund.
Capital Weekly - Thursday, April 13, 2006
Benefit dance a smashing success
The evening of April 2 was one to remember for those who were in attendance at a benefit dance at Slates restaurant.
Hallowell resident and musician Steve Vellani and a dozen or so other musical friends, who billed themselves as “The Locals,” played in various combinations to provide continuous live music for a wildly successful benefit hosted by The Friends of Vaughan Field.
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The proceeds will be used to support the community group's ongoing efforts to save and restore the parcel of land originally purchased by the Vaughan Family and given to the city of Hallowell in 1923 as a gift to the city's children and all citizens, in memory of Bertha Vaughan.
Capital Weekly - Friday, March 31, 2006
Vaughan friends hire planner to review school property use
The Friends of Vaughan Field have taken a pro-active stance to determine the future of the current elementary school and 8-acre parcel of land on Middle Street once the property is turned over to the city.
In January, the group hired Holly Dominie of Readfield, a land use planner, to study the impact of the property under five different scenarios.
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The Friends of Vaughan Field are not opposed to offering support to the new school under construction, but they do not believe it should be through the sale of Vaughan Field.
“There is a legal and a moral question because that land was left to be a park for the citizens of Hallowell and it was used for 40 years as a park, athletic field, common,” [Joel] Canty said. “We don't really want to go the legal route, but we really want to have that land as something that is going to benefit the citizens and we think that having that in town as a park would be a great benefit.”
Kennebec Journal - Monday, February 13, 2006
So old school
In Hallowell, a neighborhood group has formed and hired a land-use consultant to help decide what to do with the elementary school on Lincoln Street, which will close after this year.
In 1952, the Vaughan family gave the city permission to build a school at that location. But it had originally been intended as a public park and playground.
With construction of the new elementary school on Winthrop Street close to completion, The Friends of Vaughan Field want to see the old school property revert back to a park.
But the group is up against the City Council, which voted in 2004 to sell the property and turn over the money to Team Hall-Dale.
The group has been soliciting funds to help pay for the new school.
Kennebec Journal, Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Old school site has competing interests
Emily Loisel thought it would be nice to have a park at the old primary-school property on Lincoln Street.
The 9-year-old told 200 residents who attended a public hearing on Monday to discuss what to do with the old primary-school property that it could be a gathering place for everyone in the community.
"I wouldn't be the only one playing at the park," Loisel said at the meeting. "It would be for everyone."
Her classmate Misha Wagner, 9, agreed. She told residents how a park at that location could benefit people physically, socially and mentally.
"When you're feeling down, you can go to the park on a sunny day and it would make you happy," Wagner said.
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Gerry Mahoney, vice chair of the Hallowell Conservation Commission, said the council should move beyond discussing what is legal and what revenue the city would receive if that property was developed, and instead honor the benefactor who gave this generous gift to the city.