The MET brick school building, on Knowlton Street, was constructed in 1925 and last fall, the nonprofit Maine Historic Preservation placed it on its 2017 list of the state’s most endangered historic places. Its future has been hotly debated by those who want to keep it standing and those who want it torn down.

its demolition had been tied to the construction project taking place now at the Camden-Rockport Middle School parcel on Knowlton Street. That involves the demolition of the existing middle school complex and building of a new school.

The MET Repurposing Committee was created by the SAD 28 School Board in February, following its January decision not to further consider private developer Michael Mullins’ proposal to buy MET and initiate a privately funded adaptive reuse of the 28,2000-square-foot building. Mullins had said he would establish a community workspace there.

Mullins had stepped forward in November after the board decided last summer to entertain proposals to keep MET standing, instead of tearing it down as part of the new middle school construction project. 

Instead, the board decided to move ahead with pursuing its own ideas for keeping MET standing.

In January 2018, the board voted: “that the superintendent instruct Oak Point Associates to proceed with a zoning change and a bid alternate for the current middle school project that would secure the MET building and allow the district to proceed with an MET multipurpose building project, if approved by the district voters as an amendment to the current middle school project; that the superintendent be instructed to request from Oak Point Associates a design budget for the concept work, including independent cost estimation, necessary to submit the MET multipurpose building project to the voters; that the superintendent be authorized to select, subject to approval of this board, an independent cost estimation firm to prepare an estimate of costs to design and construct renovations and improvements to the MET building for use as a multipurpose building by the district and possible other occupants; and that the superintendent be authorized to initiate and RFP process to seek an architectural firm for the MET multipurpose building project.”

At its March 21 board meeting, SAD 28 members unanimously (8 to 0) agreed that: “the property is too valuable to the school district to lose ownership. The Board has a vested interest in holding onto the property in order to best serve the educational needs of our students now and in the future,” according to meeting minutes.

The matter had come up again given the petition that was circulating to move ownership of the MET building back to the Town of Camden.

The school board had expressed interest in relocating administrative offices and the alternative high Zenith program to the upper floors of MET and then leasing the basement floor to enterprise.

On Sept. 19, at a regularly scheduled board meeting, the board voted to place the matter before voters in November.

Having determined the degree of renovation required, the committee directed Oak Point Associates to develop a workable renovation plan. The district hired an independent cost estimator, Bruce Sanford of Conestco, in Raymond, to compare pricing with Oak Point’s figures. The cost to renovate is $4.9 million.

The wording of the warrant follows:

Question 1: Do you favor authorizing the School Board of Maine School Administrative District No. 28 (“the District”) to issue bonds or notes in an amount not to exceed $4,897,897 to renovate, improve, and equip the Mary E. Taylor building in order to preserved and re-purpose that building for multipurpose use, as described below, which bonds would be in addition to the $25,200,000 in bonds already issued for the new middle school project; and to modify the currently authorized new middle school project, as described below?

Note: The currently authorized new middle school project includes demolition of the Mary E. Taylor (“MET”) building to accommodate a portion of the athletic field for that project. If this Question is approved, the School Board would (i) modify the currently authorized new middle school project to keep the MET building intact; and (ii) renovate and repurpose the MET building for multipurpose use, as a separate project from the middle school project. Multi-purpose use would potentially include community, school, municipal, non-profit, and/or business purposes.

If this warrant is approved, the MET building will be renovated and funded by taxpayers through a $4.9 million bond.

If this warrant is not approved, the district will demolish the building. The district will seek an alternate resolution at some point in the future to relocating the Bus Barn functions (Central Office and CHRHS alternative education program) that would have been moved into a renovated MET building.