Cheshire Select Board & Youth Center Look to Compromise on Lease Amount
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Select Board and Youth Center are working on a compromise to allow the center to continue to use part of the Community House.
On Tuesday, Youth Center Executive Director Sonia DiSanti and Board of Directors President Jillian Brothers compared appraisals they got for lease rates with board members.
Last October, the board had voted 4-1 to raise the Youth Center's lease from $3,500 a month to $9,500 beginning July 2026. The center is situated in the 1961 west wing of the former Cheshire School .
According to meeting minutes, the Select Board said the lease amount was considerably below market rate and factors with multiple building project costs like the Hoosac Valley Elementary School roof repair and the McCann Technical School renovations and the current state of the Fire Department building the town has been dealing with. The lease rate was discussed to match market rate with Nocher Realty showing the rate at $9,717 per month.
At the next joint meeting June 9, the Select Board had discussed a discrepancy with the square footage from the analysis which gave much more square footage than what the center uses.
Some on the board reiterated that they appreciate the Youth Center and want to see it still located at the old elementary school but because of the town's expenses and lack of reserve funds, they have to do what is financially prudent. Cheshire is using more than $386,000 in free cash to stay under the levy limit and that the current financial position of the town is not sustainable, leading to difficult decisions like this.
A number with of people spoke in support of the Youth Center and against the increase, with Brothers explaining that while it showed the center received $1.3 million in revenue it does not show the $1.2 million in expenses and how it relies on grants and subsidies.
At the June meeting, she made a counter proposal of $4,000 a month that would start in July with a 2 percent increase every year under their lease contract until 2040. The meeting ended with the center continuing at $3,500 monthly and with both the town and center getting lease appraisals.
On Tuesday, the town brought an appraisal by Wilkinson Appraisal Associates of North Adams and the Youth Center from Bennet Franklin Real Estate Services of Longmeadow.
The Youth Center's appraisal came to $9 per square foot for 7,958 square feet, or $71,622 annually and $5,968,50 monthly. The town's was $11.40 for 8,887 square feet or 11,407 square feet including the former cafeteria. Wilkinson also offered an additional charge $5.94 per square footage for the playground and parking area, bringing it up to $17.34, which the board did not use.
The Youth Center representatives said they were utilizing the school as it was intended for children but that a big rent increase would make it hard for them to stay.
"There's just so many obstacles I think that we're up against, and I personally recognize the impact, too, that the Youth Center is having on the community and the support that it has from so many families and how many people rely on taking their children here," Chair Michelle Francesconi said. "So I don't personally want to see that relationship severed."
One of the concerns brought up by Francesconi is the heating system that would be more than $1 million to fix.
The Youth Center raised the possibility of applying for state grant funding, potentially using the engineering studies and coordinating with the town. The application window is typically around December or January, with awards expected around April or May, though funding is not guaranteed.
The center discussed adding lease language to address what happens if grant-funded work changes utility responsibilities or reduces the town's costs on the new heating system, to which the Select Board agreed it could be a renegotiation on lease price.
The board proposed to meet in the middle of both appraisals and suggest $10 per square foot for about 8,500 square feet; Brothers and DiSanti will bring it to the Youth Center's board and come back with a response.
Tags: youth center,
