The proposal to lease Bromfield House as a residence for Afghan refugees is in the hands of the Worcester County Probate Court. The court has the authority to say whether the plan accords with the will of Margaret Bromfield Blanchard, who built the house as a residence for the head of the Bromfield School.
The Select Board and the Bromfield trustees initially discussed submitting a joint petition to the court, but the two groups were unable to agree on its terms. So the Select Board submitted the petition to the court on its own, following a unanimous vote on March 11.
Select Board member Erin McBee said the next step in the process is for the Probate Court to announce a date by which anyone who objects to the Select Board’s proposal to lease Bromfield House can set forth those objections. The state attorney general’s office is also likely to weigh in.
The Bromfield trustees wanted the petition to spell out what would be done with the money from the eventual sale of Bromfield House. The Select Board petition said that question would be negotiated later, among the Select Board, the Bromfield trustees, and the School Committee, subject to the approval of the Probate Court.
Meanwhile, town counsel recommended the School Committee take a new vote restating its intention of giving up use of Bromfield House. More than eight years ago, in December 2013, the committee voted unanimously to give up Bromfield House “pending identification of other acceptable space” for the district administrative offices, which were then housed in the building. Because that vote had been conditional on finding new space, town counsel advised a new vote stating simply that the School Committee was giving up the property.
The School Committee took up the issue at its March 21 meeting, but then decided to delay the vote. “I hate to see that land go,” Chair SusanMary Redinger said, suggesting the site might someday be used for a preschool or kindergarten. But she acknowledged the process for selling Bromfield House was already far down the road and difficult to reverse. Both Town Meeting and a referendum supported the sale last fall. The School Committee decided unanimously to take no action until a later meeting.
