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speakup

The clock is ticking for the former Centreville Elementary School building.

Last month, the Centreville's village council made a decision to accept proposals, which would benefit the community and the residents, for the sale of the old building. The deadline for submissions is Friday afternoon, just three days before the municipal election.

This issue has sparked debate for the mayoral race.

Candidate-hopeful Debbie Thomas said she was shocked to hear the news. She said she can't believe council would make such a major decision without informing the residents beforehand. After speaking with several others in the community, she said, not one person knew about the sale prior to her telling them or reading about it in the newspapers.

"It would have been a done deal, and the town would have woke up and said ‘what did you just do? You just sold the only piece of real estate we have got left,'" said Debbie.

Centreville incumbent Mayor Gary Thomas explained the decision was not one reached lightly. The school was built in the 1960s, but was closed in 2004, said Gary, when it merged with the Centreville Middle School to become the Centreville Community School. The building was then declared surplus by the Department of Supply and Services, and it sat vacant for two years.

Gary said the department transferred ownership to the village, and council searched for the best avenue to take, which would benefit the community and its people.

McCain Foods used the building for office space, he said, while expansions and renovations were being done at the Florenceville plant. But McCain Foods left the building vacant in November, and the costs of upkeep proved to be too much for the village.

"It is a heavy burden financially, and, from the day we took the building on, it was our intention to get it and hopefully we could put it to good use to benefit the village," Gary said. "Estimated costs for upgrades to the building are $480,000, with an estimated yearly-operating budget of $77,500, which would place an increased tax burden to the village residents."

Debbie feels the decision could have waited until after the election, as the community has had no input on the matter nor did the council ask residents if they have any ideas on bringing income into the building so it could sustain itself. She feels the village should keep the facility and let the residents have a say in how it can be maintained.

"Maybe there are some people here who have better ideas than the mayor and council had," she pointed out.

This prompted Debbie to request council to rescind its decision and cancel the tender requests. She said she has sent e-mails and made numerous calls to the village office.

"I do not believe that what I am asking council to do is unreasonable," she stated in one of her e-mails. "I understand that local government has a job to do and that you cannot involve the community in every decision you make, but I absolutely believe you should involve them when making decisions of this magnitude."

The response she received from village office was no decision would be made on any proposals received for the old school until council met again, which is tentatively scheduled for May 26.

This does not sit well with the mayor hopeful.

"If they are not going to look at them until a month down the road, then why don't you just rescind the motion before the election," she said. "So I sent them off another e-mail saying I didn't think that was acceptable. I got no response."

Debbie said she is not using the school issue as her platform for her candidacy, and she added it is unfortunate it came up at the same time as the election race.

As a parent and long-time resident, Debbie hopes the mayor and village council will listen before the tenders close on Friday afternoon.