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BENNINGTON â The town and the Berkshire Family YMCA, which operates the town Recreation Center, are considering a plan to lease space at the former Bennington High School â including the gymnasium and nearby rooms.
Negotiations are underway with the owner, Christopher Gilbert of Red Hook, N.Y., and Dorset, who purchased the vacant and deteriorating former high school on Main Street in March, officials said, while providing the Select Board with a presentation Monday on prospects for use of the gym and other indoor space for recreation.
After purchasing the vacant school building at 650 Main St. for $146,000 through his Benn High, LLC, Gilbert, a developer of homes in the Hudson Valley, N.Y., area, said he also has renovated a former mill and other structures for mixed reuse. He said he planned something similar with the former high school and later middle school, which dates to 1913 and includes additions constructed
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BENNINGTON â The Select Board has turned down a request to waive a policy of requiring voter petitions if a nonprofit service organization seeks a higher annual allocation from the town.
At its meeting last week, the board also placed on the March 2 town ballot a referendum forced by an earlier petition drive to gather the signatures of at least 5 percent of registered voters â or about 500.
That was in favor of a proposed charter change allowing Bennington to switch to a mayoral form of government.
Town Manager Stuart Hurd had previously mentioned to the board that an organization sought to raise its prior ballot request but did not want to conduct a petition drive during the COVID-19 epidemic.
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BENNINGTON â The task force groups working to revise and update Bennington Police Department policies are closing on the halfway point toward a goal of revising a dozen policies by spring.
The town is now opening the process to new citizen participants, who are asked to apply for a spot on one of six task force groups that will begin work in January.
Information about the process can be found on the townâs website, https://benningtonvt.org.
Each group is expected to have four citizen volunteers and the three permanent task force members who serve on all of the groups â Select Board member Bruce Lee-Clark, Assistant Town Manager Daniel Monks and BPD Officer Daniel Ferrara.