Thursday, August 19, 1999 Older Editions

Selectmen to vote on Will Hall senior center lease

By Neil Fater

After months of negotiation between the town and Phillips Academy, Andover has a lease that will allow the town to use Phillips' Williams Hall as Andover's next senior center.

Now selectmen must decide if they support the negotiated lease.

"As of today, we have a final draft for selectmen," says Council on Aging director Jeanne Madden, Tuesday.

"At this point I think we have done the best that we can do and I think it's a really excellent lease," she says. "It's not just the best possible deal, it's the best deal."

What Madden calls "the best deal," however, is expected to meet some opposition from selectmen. Larry Larsen and Lori Becker previously have stated they can't support such a lease option, and Larsen has renewed his opposition.

Larsen says he opposes the amount of control Phillips will have over how the town's senior center can be used. Becker also expressed continued concern Tuesday, calling the decision "a tough call," in part because of restrictions on how the facility can be used.

The deal will allow all of the current groups who use Andover's senior center to use Will Hall. However, both Phillips and the town will have a control over deciding what additional groups can use the facility.

If the lease is approved, Youth Services would not be able to use the facility while Phillips classes are in session, says Madden.

"It still is a business proposition where the control has to be on Phillips' side. I don't blame Phillips," says Larsen. "But I see no way that I can even approve a lease between the town and Phillips for that type of program. The design will have to be approved by the outset by Phillips."

Past selectmen votes regarding the lease have been 3-2 in favor of pursuing the lease.

Chairman John Hess, one of those who supported pursuing the Will Hall lease in the past, says he has not made up his mind yet about the proposed lease, and does not expect selectmen to vote Monday.

"I think it will come up but I don't know if we'll vote on it because of the time frame," he says. "We might not get (a copy of the lease) until Friday night, which means the public will not have had a chance to see it either."

Who can use it

Madden says the lease spells out that the first priority for the center is that the town use it for senior activities. Groups, such as veterans' organizations, who also use the current center at Whittier Court during off-hours will be allowed to use the Will Hall center, says Madden.

"Groups that are currently coming will flow right along with us. Current users are identified (in the lease)," she says. "The Department of Community Services runs their summer dance classes (at the current senior center) and a variety of other activities throughout the year, and they've been identified and will be able to continue.

"Other uses beyond that depend on the group. That's actually more than we do now," says Madden.

Outdoor activities at the Will Hall facility would have to follow the same standards as events at the Park, meaning they would have to end at 9 p.m., says Madden. The building would be treated the same as any other town building, meaning a special permit would be needed for events offering alcohol.

Cost

Most of the lease is just as presented to the town at the 1999 Town Meeting, when residents voted to authorize selectmen to enter into a lease with Phillips.

The private Friends of Andover Seniors group says it will raise the estimated $4 million needed to renovate, expand and turn Will Hall into a senior center. In exchange, Phillips will lease the facility to the town for 30 years at $1 per year. After 30 years, Phillips and the town may agree to a 10-year extension at an annual cost of "half the going market rate."

Madden says Phillips and the town will begin discussions on what constitutes half the market rate after 25 years. If a 10-year extension is agreed to, another round of discussions regarding a second 10-year lease will begin after 35 years, she says.

At the end of the lease, the facility will return to Phillips' control.