BRIDGEWATER — Town Manager Michael Dutton is pleased to announce that the Town of Bridgewater has agreed in principle to an agreement that would transfer the former Bridgewater High School building to the Town of Bridgewater.
The agreement, made between the Towns of Bridgewater and Raynham and the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, would formally transfer the “Old High School” property to the Town of Bridgewater after many years of discussion between the three parties involved.
Now that the agreement has been reached, the Bridgewater Town Council, the Raynham Board of Selectmen and the school district will go through the formal process to sign and finalize the transfer.
The Bridgewater Town Council held its first public reading on the matter at its Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting, and will likely vote on the matter on Oct. 20 after the Finance Committee and the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee provide recommendations.
The transfer will become finalized within 30 days of each party officially voting to approve it.
The building, located at 166 Mount Prospect St., served as the district’s regional high school for nearly 50 years. Shortly after the new high school was built in 2007, the Town of Bridgewater made renovations to the building and began using it as the site of Bridgewater Middle School. The district’s regional offices are also currently located at the school.
The BRRSD’s Regional School District Agreement does not specifically address how compensation would be paid from one member town to another or to the district upon transfer of the premises among the parties. This led the two towns and the district to work out an agreement as to the formal transfer of the “Old High School” building to the Town of Bridgewater, and what subsequent annual consideration would need to be paid to the Town of Raynham.
According to the agreement that was reached by the three parties, the Town of Bridgewater would pay the Town of Raynham $700,000 over the course of 12 years, beginning with fiscal year 2021, once the agreement is finalized.
“This agreement brings to a close many years of discussions between the Towns of Bridgewater and Raynham and the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, and we feel that we have met the needs of all parties involved,” Town Manager Dutton said. “I am grateful to the Bridgewater Town Council and the Raynham Board of Selectmen, and everyone who worked so hard on all sides to come to such a mutually-beneficial conclusion.”
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