Blue Hill moves toward settlement on Tenney Hill, BHCS properties

Hinckley House, a former dorm for GSA, is being sold to the town, along with property at Blue Hill Consolidated School.

By Tricia Thomas

BLUE HILL—The Blue Hill Select Board took another step toward its pending purchase of a property on Tenney Hill on September 2, approving a $1.2-million bond resolution to borrow the bulk of the $1.8-million deal.  The unanimous vote, cast at a regular board meeting, follows a 227-to-73 vote by residents approving the purchase at a special town meeting on the matter on August 24

As part of the deal with George Stevens Academy, the town also is purchasing about 13 acres of land around the Blue Hill Consolidated School on High Street, including the footprint of land underneath the building, which the town has leased for decades, according to Blue Hill select board member D. Scott Miller.

The general obligation bond resolution approved by the select board will enable the town to borrow the money needed for the purchase of both properties.  The town and GSA have a tentative settlement date for the property of Sept. 19. Miller and fellow board member Amanda Woog said on September 8 that, although the town and school still are working out some minor details of the $1.8-million deal, they expect the settlement to move ahead. The town sought the September 19 date while negotiating with GSA on issues such as how equipment and furniture left in the building would be distributed, and who is responsible for repairing an area of damaged flooring on the dorm’s first floor.

Although no immediate plans are underway for the Consolidated School property, the town is considering siting a new fire station on the Tenney Hill property to replace its aging facility on Water Street.  Fire chief John Chapman has said that the existing station, built in 1966, is outdated and too small to house new, larger fire trucks that have become the norm.  Now, the town pays to have new trucks customized to fit the space.  The Peninsula Ambulance Corps rents two bays at the existing station and also needs more space, Chapman has said.

The station, located along Blue Hill Harbor, also is at long-term risk of flooding or damage from rising tides, said select board member D. Scott Miller.

“It’s coming, and we need to prepare for that,” Miller told more than 100 people gathered at an information session on the plan held in August.

Moving the station to the nearly 17-acre Tenney Hill site, which includes a dormitory building, would provide both the fire department and PAC with room to grow, officials say. According to a town website dedicated to the purchase and fire station concept, five new, drive-through fire and ambulance bays would be constructed behind the existing dormitory building.  The new station also would include space for turnout gear, medical supplies, firefighting supplies and storage, as well as a decontamination area where firefighters can wash soot and chemicals from their bodies, gear and equipment.

The dormitory building, used by GSA to house international students until the program was shuttered and the property put on the market two years ago, could be converted to office and meeting space, including space for Hancock County sheriffs and other visiting law enforcement, and sleeping quarters for EMTs, who work around the clock, as well as volunteer firefighters, according to the plan.

The Tenney Hill site was chosen from among a handful of possible sites vetted by the town over the past 16 months, the select board said at an information session on the plan on August 21.  Other potential sites included one on South Street that the town already owns, as well as privately owned parcels on Beech Hill Road and the Mines Road. The Tenney Hill site is ideal for new construction, and using the existing dormitory building with only “modest” renovation will save an estimated $2.5 to $3 million in construction costs, Miller told the more than 300 people gathered at the special town meeting.  

Although some residents questioned the $6.8 million estimated total cost of the project and whether Tenney Hill was an appropriate site for a new fire station, the town warrant authorizing the select board to move ahead with the purchase of both properties was overwhelmingly approved by written ballot on August 24.