The recently established Ad Hoc Facilities Committee is seeking volunteers as the Dec. 30 deadline for applying rapidly approaches. The Committee is charged with assisting the Board of Selectmen (BOS) in making strategic decisions regarding the maintenance, repair, repurposing, lease, expansion, and/or sale of all town building facilities and vacant land parcels.

First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said the committee is a unique opportunity to create an encompassing approach to the numerous town-owned facilities and buildings. With the renovation at Academy and the massive school renovation project both underway, the pool of facilities will only grow as several buildings will be left empty.

“I think that learning from our experiences with previous buildings, we found it was important to have a permanent committee like this. A lot of towns have these committees, so it’s not a new thing, it’s just that Madison has never established one,” Lyons said.

The committee is designed to assist the BOS in making strategic decisions regarding the maintenance, repair, repurposing, lease, expansion, and/or sale of all Town building facilities and vacant land parcels.

Further, their charge is to develop a Town-wide facilities master plan to optimize space utilization, assist in long-term capital investment planning, evaluate all existing town facilities, and review suitability for current operations by leveraging completed studies and other resources, according to Lyons.

The Committee will also delve into determining any current needs for space and facility improvements, identify properties for potential repurposing, lease or sale, and with an eye to longer-term needs, make appropriate recommendations to the Board of Selectmen and the Town’s Capital Improvement Program Committee, when applicable

According to Lyons, the Facilities Committee will be charged with a large task as the town will soon have several vacant properties that need a solution for permanent occupancy or possible sale. The Town conducted an assessment of its buildings two years ago, Lyons said, and the next step is establish a master plan.

“The next step is, now that we know where the problems are and what the issues are with different buildings, now we need to develop this master plan going forward, and we need to look at some of the buildings that are becoming vacant because of the school renewal plan and Academy ( coming online," Lyons explained. "It’s going to be a big undertaking, but at least it's concentrated. One of the complaints in the past is that we were always looking at these buildings in isolation and not the big picture. Now that we know the issues and conditions of the buildings, the next thing we have to look at are what the uses are going to be and what is the long-term plan going to be?”

When the renewal plan goes into effect, Lyons said that Jeffery Elementary, the Madison Youth and Family Services building, and the Town Campus Learning Center at the Town Campus will be among the vacant facilities. Lyons explained that a consolidated effort to utilize or sell those properties would assist in future financial savings.

“In the long run, this is going to be a great tool for the town,” Lyons said. “This way, we don’t have to set up a committee every time a building becomes vacant. What they can do as well, is to provide some guidance. Rather than looking at each building independently, you have to look at it holistically. It may be that they decide to sell some parcels, too. I think it will be a good conversation because what I don’t think we want is another building sitting empty for years like Academy did.”

The town is currently seeking members and taking applications for the committee until the end of the year.

“There’s only two public positions on the committee, but we thought that was important to have. We set this up like we did for ARPA and having that public input is extremely important," said Lyons.

For more information about the ad hoc Facilities Committee, visit madisonct.org. Anyone interested in joining the committee is encouraged to complete an application at madisonct.org/628/Board-and-Commission-Application. Applications are due by Friday, Dec. 30.