By Nicholas Brown
Contributing Writer

The Hooksett Village School has been empty since last June, when its students walked out for the last time. Now the school is the subject of a $1.5 million bond issue, which would pay for turning it into both a new town hall and a community center.

The vote will take place Tuesday, May 10. The deliberative session on April 2 did not address Warrant Article 4, as it had to be placed before voters as it was written.

If the warrant passes, half of the renovated building would become an annex for the currently overcrowded Hooksett Municipal Building. The other half would be used as a community center for such programs as senior meals, after-school activities and computer labs.

Officials say the $1.5 million would be used for safety renovations and code compliance for the building, which functioned continuously as a school since 1936 until its closing in June of last year, when it was given for town use. Hooksett Town Administrator Moni Sharma said the tax rate would be determined by the term of the bond issue. Tenyear, 15-year and 20-year terms are being considered.

With a 15-year bond, taxpayers would pay 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Thus the owner of a $200,000 home would pay $30 per year.

An 11-member Hooksett Village School Re-Use Committee, along with the Community Economic Development Corporation of Hooksett (CEDCOH), a nonprofit organization dedicated to economic and community development, are working in conjunction to see that the vote passes.

Dawn Stanhope, co-founder and chairman of CEDCOH, said the Hooksett Municipal Building’s 6,482 square feet provides only half of what is needed to accommodate town officials.

Stanhope said also that a community center specifically for Hooksett residents is long overdue, since residents are often turned away from Manchester and Merrimack County facilities.

“The need is pretty severe,” she said. “You would think for a town of our size, we would have some community services available.”

Though specific plans for the community center are contingent on the bond warrant, Stanhope said CEDCOH has been speaking with organizations around town to discuss community needs.

Tentative ideas for the community center include a Meals on Wheels program for seniors, after school and weekend youth programs, and two computer labs for public and classroom use.

While such programs would require additional renovations, Stanhope said Hooksett taxpayers would not foot the bill. Instead, Stanhope said, organizations would have to provide for renovations and materials themselves, and likely lease space from the town.

Stanhope said that the school building’s gymnasium, kitchen and some classrooms, would well suit a community center. She added that the layout of the building – with a courtyard in the middle – would prevent overlap between the center and the new town hall offices.

Doug St. Pierre, one of three town council members on the re-use committee, said 10 town offices would be moved to the new building, including the tax collector’s office, the human resources office and the finance office.

St. Pierre estimated that the move would relieve overcrowding for 15 to 20 years, anticipating that at least 18 town officials would join the new office.

“There isn’t any more space,” St. Pierre said. “If this doesn’t happen, we’d probably need to build a brand new town hall closer to the center of town.”

Town officials said that if the warrant passes, construction and renovations on the new building could begin as early as August.