The building at 98 Bank St. in Seymour.
SEYMOUR — A public hearing on the potential sale of the former Center School building at 98 Bank St. to its current and sole occupant — the Naugatuck Valley Health District — drew just one person Tuesday (Oct. 17) to Seymour Town Hall.
That person was longtime member of NVHD’s Board of Directors Rosalie Averill, who spoke very much in favor of the sale.
“We’ve been very good, faithful tenants,” Averill told the Seymour Board of Selectpersons during the five-minute hearing. “We’re here tonight to talk about selling the building to the district. The district serves many municipalities. It’s a win-win for the Town of Seymour.”
The Board of Selectpersons took no action during its regular meeting following the public hearing. The price to taxpayers is not yet known.
Town Attorney Warren Holcomb said the contract for the sale between the town and the health district is still being finalized. First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said the board can call a special meeting prior to its next regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 8 to vote on the contract and sale.
Averill said the board and the district are aware of some issues with the nearly 100-year old building, and are prepared to tackle them head-on.
“We’ve done our homework, the bottom floor of the building floods, there’s mold. It’s not a healthy building,” Averill said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. We have to bring an elevator to the third floor. There are big expenses, but we’re willing to undertake it because our commitment is to remain true to the district and Seymour seems to be ideal.”
According to town land records, the building sits on 1.09 acres and has an appraised value of $1.02 million. It was built in 1925.
The building has been home to NVHD since 2005. The building has three floors. The NVDH leases two of the building’s three floors from the town for $16,667 a year, according to a 30-year lease signed in 2003.
The third floor of the building was previously occupied by the Seymour Board of Education’s central offices (the superintendent and supporting administrative offices). That changed in November 2022 when central offices moved out of 98 Bank St. and into a wing of Seymour High School.
Drugonis said the town has been discussing selling the building for more than a decade. She said it costs the town between $60,000 and $80,000 a year to heat, cool, and maintain the building.
