By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Town officials have drafted a warrant article that would allocate $500,000 of surplus money to turn the nearly vacant Hooksett Village School building into new town offices.

Last year, voters narrowly rejected a $1.5 million bond that would have renovated the building to house both new offices and a community center, with each taking up about half of the building.

“We recognize the need to get in and make use of the great resource we have there,” said Hooksett Town Council Chairman Michael DiBitetto.

Also sparking the move, said DiBitetto, is that “The people have spoken time and time again that they want to see this building reused.”

The Main Street building was used for nearly 70 years as a school, until students walked out for the last time in June 2004. Earlier in that year, voters approved a $1 transaction that deeded the building to the town.

Since then, the building has hosted a small handful of community events, and has housed some files spilling out of the overcrowded municipal building. DiBitetto said the $500,000 plan would allow all the town offices to move to the Village School building, though renovations would be scaled back from last year's plan.

"The game plan right now is to do a minimalist approach to this," he said.

Town Administrator David Jodoin said the surplus money to fund the project has recently been collected after auditors determined that some of the town's debts were "uncollectable," and could be written off.

The scaled-back project would not require new taxation, officials said.

DiBitetto said plans for the new building would include fresh paint, updates to the cooling and heating systems, some renovations to the entrance and some minor wall reconfigurations.

"It will be scaled down from (last year's plan)," he said.

One of the savings, said DiBitetto, is to hold off on installing a costly sprinkler system, something that would have accompanied a community center.

At a Jan. 25 meeting, the council voted 7-1 to place the half-million-dollar question on this year's ballot.

Jason Hyde, who has been filling the seat vacated last summer by Pat Rueppel, cast the lone negative vote.

The Hooksett Town Meeting deliberative session is scheduled for Saturday, April 1.