The agreement between the Town of Blue Hill and George Stevens Academy (GSA) actually provides for the purchase of two properties:
- the proposed location for the new public safety building on Tenney Hill and
- the land under the Blue Hill Consolidated School (BHCS)
Leased Land and Prior Purchase Offer
While the Town owns the BHCS building, it does not own the land under the school. This land is leased under a 99-year agreement with GSA which expires in July 2088. In November 2023, the Select Board made an offer to purchase the school property (and some additional land behind the school) for $95,000, the full value identified in an appraisal, but did not receive a response from GSA at the time.
The Select Board (and the School Committee) believe it is advantageous for the Town to own the land under the school. As the end of the lease term approaches, the Town would have to consider carefully how much to invest in the BHCS building or, as was done in 1989, renegotiate and extend the lease on whatever terms might be agreeable to GSA. This uncertainty is not problematic today (since the lease has another 60+ years to run), but it would become moreso if the current arrangement is not modified.
2025 Purchase Agreement
As the Select Board considered making an offer to purchase the Tenney Hill property, it determined that this would also be an advantageous time to resolve the BHCS land ownership issue.
The current agreement to be voted on by the Town includes the purchase of all of the BHCS land leased by the Town, plus some additional land (including the driveway in front of the gym building) and a continued access easement from High Street.