Town Manager Proposes The Old Town Hall Become A Recreation & Community Center; Select Board Resistant To Making The Buzzell A “Giant Filing Cabinet”

WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington Select Board spent more than an hour at their latest meeting to discuss the future of multiple vacant Town buildings, with particular attention paid to the former Buzzell Senior Center.

Town Manager’s Proposal 

The discussion stemmed from a memo submitted by Town Manager Eric Slagle. Read the memo, in its entirety, below:

This memorandum is to provide the Board with proposals regarding how the Town should move forward with the use of several Town buildings: the Arts Council Building, the Glen Rd. School (old Town Hall), and the Buzzell Building.

As a result of theopening of the new Town Hall this week, as well as last year’s opening ofthe new Senior Center, there are several buildings that will be vacated and/or turned over to the Town. The administration has developed concrete plans for these properties, as detailed below:

1. The Arts Council Building – As the Town has expanded its Veteran’s Services Department, and brought in more service for Town veterans, the West Schoolhouse has begun to be outgrown. The current home of the department offers limited space for private consultations, and has inadequate parking. Moving this Department to the Arts Council Building brings it closer to the Town Center and allows for an ADA compliant space with private consultation rooms and plenty of parking. It also allows for easier coordination from the office on both Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances. This move would happen after the building is turned over to the Town by the School Department. While we are not able to solidify plans at this time, we are looking at possibilities to keep the West Schoolhouse in active use.

2. The Glen Rd. School (old Town Hall) – Part of the public input that the Reuse Committee received in its meeting about the Buzzell Building indicated a desire by many residents for a ‘community center’ type space. The Glen Rd. School offers the opportunity to explore the viability of programming for a community center space to see if the concept can work. Once the Glen Rd. School ceases operations as Town Hall, it will be possible to set aside rooms in the building for Recreational Department programming during the school days (when the schools are unavailable), for Arts Council programs, and potentially for WCTV, should they wish to pursue space in a Town property. The adjacent recreation area, with the playground, athletic fields and pickleball courts, already has robust use for recreation, and the auditorium/gym in the building could be returned to a gym space for recreational use, while still providing space for larger group meetings if needed.

3. The Buzzell Building – As the opening of the new Town Hall has moved closer, it has become apparent that multiple departments for more long term, organized file storage. Use of the Buzzell for this storage immediately adjacent to the new Town Hall places these files in walking proximity to the various departments, while keeping them in a locked, secured facility and not overwhelming the new space. These files will be easily accessible as we move forward with our digitization project. Additionally, the Historic Commission has demonstrated a need for storage space for some of its collection that cannot be stored at the Harnden Tavern. Using the facility for these storage needs will eliminate some of the ADA requirements for the building (no need for a kitchen or bathrooms), and will also eliminate the unfunded requirement for custodial coverage. The building will still need to be remediated of its hazardous materials prior to this use.

Overall, the administration believes that these are the best possible choices for the use of these buildings, and requests the Select Board endorse this plan.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Select Board Members Respond

Four of the five Select Board members spoke out against using the Buzzell primarily for file storage.

“I’d like to see some numbers, fiscally, that that is the way to go,” requested Selectwoman Maselli. “I don’t understand why we need to keep a building for storage,” suggesting the storage can be kept at the old Town Hall on Glen Road.

“The hope is if we’re going to turn [the old Town Hall] into a Community Center, we wouldn’t want to be storing files in this location,” responded Slagle, who added that, due to the location of new Town Hall, the Buzzell building provides easier access to staff seeking files rather than having to drive to Glen Road.

“I thought [permanent storage] was what the vault [in the new Town Hall] is for?,” asked Selectman Jacob Gearwar. 

“How did we built the new Town Hall without adequate storage?,” added Maselli.

“I’m not sure the current departments realized how many files there are in this building, and in other buildings, that are required to be kept long-term,” responded Slagle. “That’s an unfortunate reality of municipal organizations that haven’t completed digitization…. The vault will provide sufficient storage space for the Town Clerk’s files that are required, but [not for other departments].”

“I still think we can keep the storage [at the old Town Hall],” responded Maselli. “I have a big problem keeping a building and putting money into a building to keep storage, especially where we’re digitizing. I need to see finances on that. I’m not sold that that’s the best fiscal thing to do… No one is moving into the [old Town Hall] anytime soon.”

“The last time we spoke about the Buzzell Senior Center, I believe the motion was made and passed that we wanted a full cost and attempt to determine which groups wanted to go in there and what they needed for space,” chimed in Selectman Gary DePalma. “I would recommend we postpone [a vote to rescind the vote to demolish the Buzzell Senior Center] until we know exactly what it is going to cost us for any form of rehab on the property, and who is going to go in there… I was a little disappointed to see this [proposal].”

“To that point, I believe it was extended out that we would go to departments and department heads to see if departments had a use for [the Buzzelll], and – if not – we’d put out a Request For Information or Requested For Proposal to see if there were any groups or organizations that would be interested in the use of the Buzzell,” agreed Selectman Kevin Caira.

“Where do I begin?,” joked Caira, who expressed several criticisms with the memo. “The Community Center is not a bad idea, but there’s a lot that goes into that. How are we funding it? Are we hiring new employees to run a community center? Is that in the upcoming budget? You mentioned programs during the school day for the kids, but the kids must be in school.”

“You mentioned the Recreation Department would be here… but the Recreation Department has a beautiful space at the new Town Hall and now we’re going to give them an even larger space here,” continued Caira, adding the public may get confused and frustrated if the Department has offices in both locations. Caira would like to see the Recreation Department have its office at the Rec Center, and not at the new Town Hall.

“Regarding the Buzzell School, I’m going to request the Chair call in the OPM, the architect, the construction company, and the Town Hall/School Administration Building Committee and find out if, in fact, there is not ample storage in a $37 million building that we just built. Let me tell you, I want them to tell the residents that we screwed up, and we didn’t put enough storage in the building. Wow,” said Caira. “I was on that committee and I will be apologizing to the residents. We talked at nauseum about storage and they told us that building was built for 50 years, for enough storage, and for expansion of employees.”

Caira suggested offering a room in the eventual Community Center to the Historical Commission to put displays out for the public, rather than use the old Buzzell building for storing of artifacts in less than ideal conditions.

“Regarding storage, we already have storage in the basement of the Arts Center,” concluded Caira. “I agree with Mrs. Maselli. Why not use spaces in the old Town Hall [on Glen Road] for storage for the time being, especially for archived files?… I don’t see using the Buzzell School for storage, I really don’t.”

“I agree with Mr. Caira and Mrs. Maselli that we make a determination of the storage, but we also need to look to the future,” said DePalma, who added he’d like to see the Woburn Street School, which will likely be vacant in roughly three years, used as a community center.

“I agree with Mr. Caira’s points, and [Masselli and DePalma], the Buzzell shouldn’t be used for storage,” agreed Selectman Jake Gearwar. “I was told it was going to take 5-6 years [for the digitization of storage files to be completed.] That seems unacceptable in my head… Pay money and have a company get it done in a year, and just be done with it. We should address that plan — 5-6 years is way too long.”

While Caira doesn’t think a rec/community center at the old Town Hall is a bad idea, he also mentioned that the high school-sized gym being built in the new elementary school was built so large, in part, to accommodate offerings from the Recreation Department.

Caira also complained that the community is not being allowed to use the new Senior Center building afterhours, whereas community groups were allowed to use the old Senior Center at night as long as they paid for custodial services.

“If we think we built a $17 million Senior Center to sit here and do nothing in the evening, someone is crazy and I don’t think it’s me,” joked Caira. He noted that are a lot of groups (e.g., end of the year banquets for sport teams, boy scouts & girl scouts, etc.) that could utilize the dining area and kitchen at the new Senior Center as a community space.

Town Manager Slagle responded that the Elderly Services Director is currently finalizing the policy to permit community use of the Senior Center. It will next need to be run by the Town Attorney.

Select Board Chair Frank West then asked about the purpose of the Town’s Building Reuse Committee. West asked for clarification if the board is dismantling that committee or purposely side-stepping them. Slagle reminded Wet that the Select Boar had previously given him permission to bring building reuse proposals directly to the Select Board if he felt there was a municipal use, rather than go to the Building Reuse Committee first.

West then questioned the difference in conditions between the old Buzzell Senior Center and the old Town Hall, noting the board and residents were told the Town Hall was “on its last leg” with a leaky roof, antiquated restrooms, single pane windows, no sprinklers, and a dying heating system. West felt the Buzzell was actually in better shape than the Town Hall. West asked what it would cost to turn the old Town Hall into a Recreation Center.

“The proposal is for a ‘down the road’ use,” responded Slagle. “It still has all the Town Hall infrastructure in it. It wouldn’t be something turned over anytime soon, but more long-term…. But you’re right. If the Town felt a Community Center at this location made sense, infrastructure [improvements] would need to happen.”

DePalma then asked for the Town Manager to think more “outside the box” with some of the future vacant buildings with possible “public-private” partnerships.

Back on topic, DePalma noted he had heard there were building issues with the Buzzell that were not previously publicly reported.

“Whether they’re true or not, I don’t know. I haven’t had access to certain areas and I’m not a contractor, but I’d like to find out some things I have heard and then we go from there,” said DePalma. “If it takes us until March, April or May, or whatever the case may be, the building isn’t going to go anywhere. It’s going to sit there until we decide what to do with it. Let’s hold off. Get these figures down. Then really address it…. Let’s take our time a little. Let’s see what we have. Let’s see what the departments need.”

In response to a question from West, Slagle does not believe the Veterans Department moving into the Arts Center will require any capital projects.

West then reminded the board that at the recent Special Town Meeting, the residents voted to keep the Buzzell up and provide funding up to $615,000 to rehab the building.

“Whether it’s used as a giant file cabinet or whatever we’re talking about, I think we have that money,” said West. 

“My take is the town spoke. [The board] can say we have the power and authority, but I think we’re five and they had 247 vote in favor of keeping the building,” added West. West seemed comfortable using the building for storage in the immediate future, with an eye on additional municipal uses in the future.

West reiterated that he was in favor of keeping the Buzzell building, aligned with the wishes of the majority of voters at the Special Town Meeting.

“This goes back to numbers. I agree the old Town Hall needs work, but it would potentially service 3-4 departments, while the Buzzell could not,” argued Maselli. “I also feel that the people at the Town Meeting did speak, and I respect their opinion, but that did not encompass the entire town. Like, at any meeting, it’s who shows up. I’m not denying that. But I take a little umbrage when you say the town has spoken. You’re encompassing 25,000 people.”

“And 25,000 people could have attended Town Meeting,” responded West.

“Absolutely, they could have. But they didn’t. A very small percentage shows up, and I mean that respectfully, and it is what it is, but you make it sound like…,” Maselli said, before being cut off. “This board has the right to make the decision about the [Buzzell], legally.”

“Before we start spending taxpayer money, on something we don’t really know what it’s going to cost, let’s back off and get these prices [written] down,” said DePalma. “I can’t guarantee it, but if we start getting prices of $1.6 million or $1.7 million to rehab the Buzzell, I think people will come back and say that they didn’t expect it to be that bad.”

DePalma stressed he “doesn’t want to touch the building” until he knows how much the rehab will cost.

Slagle made it clear it would take multiple months to hire an architect, have them evaluate the building, prepare a scope of work and get pricing. Slagle noted the funding could come out of the $615,000 allocated at Special Town Meeting.

Caira felt that the Building Reuse Committee already provide some of those numbers. He later added, “We’re building these new buildings, to keep up the old buildings, does that make sense?”

“It makes no sense,” responded Maselli.

“If it’s going to cost the taxpayer another $1.5 million [to rehab] the Buzzell, do we really want to put that money towards it with everything else [coming up] — we have a substation coming up,” added Caira. “If there’s not a department that needs that building, don’t we want to at least find out if there’s a group or organization out there — with a request for information — that would take on that nut and do the right thing for the building? And, if not, does the taxpayer want to pay that type of money to keep the building up.”

“We’ve got a lot going on. Are we going to leave up the Roman House? I mean, people can’t even walk in there. I’ve got two new knees and a hip, and it’s hard to walk in there,” Caira noted.

Caira also noted that he disagreed with Selectman West over which building is more structurally sound — the Buzzell (West’s belief) or the old Town Hall (Caira’s belief).

Board Asked To Rescind Vote To Demolish Buzzell School & Endorsing Recommendations of Town Manager For Use of Various Town Buildings

After discussing the memo, the Board then considered whether to rescind its previous vote to demolish the Buzzell School.

Selectman Frank West made the motion, but it did not receive a second from any of his four colleagues.

Selectman Kevin Caira said he felt the demolition of the Buzzell was “on hold” since the board is still waiting for the Town Manager to complete tasks voted on at a prior Select Board meeting, including issuing a Request for Information. Gearwar, DePalma and Maselli all agreed they were waiting on additional information.

“And if it takes us for however long [to receive it], so be it. The building isn’t going aware,” said DePalma.

Slagle then clarified the need for file storage as the Buzzell.

“The files we’re talking about storing at the Buzzell are long-term storage files. I don’t believe the plan for the new Town Hall was ever to have those at the new Town Hall,” clarified Slagle.

Slagle then asked of the board if there is consensus among the board to hire an architect, per DePalma’s wishes, to get more detailed data.

“If we’re looking for costs, the only way to do that is to go down that road,” said Slagle. “If we’re looking to nail down costs, we’re going to have to have an architect and structural engineer in the building, and they’re not going to do it for free.”

After some more discussion, Selectman Gary DePalma made a motion to “order the Town Manager to hire a design professional to review the Buzzell Senior Center and make a determination on what the actual cost will be to the town.”

Gearwar then asked for a cost estimate on hiring the design professional. Slagle estimated that a design professional usually costs 10%-15% of a project’s total budge. Slagle is not sure, however, what they would charge just for providing specs, without the project necessarily moving forward.

West then seconded DePalma’s motion.

DePalma reiterated points he made earlier, and hoped the Town has checked for existing leaks in the Buzzell’s roof.

“I’d rather spend some money now [to hire a professional to evaluate the building], rather than spending a whole lot of money later,” said DePalma.

“I don’t want to spend money until we have a clear vision of what it’s going to be used for,” countered Gearwar. “Until we know what we’re going to use it for, why are we spending any money from taxpayers?”

“I agree,” Maselli chimed in.

“We decided at a meeting or two ago to find out if there was a department needed use of that building, and – if not – that we would potentially put it out for a Request for Information to see if there was a group, and then let them do that work. Let them spend that money,” agreed Caira. “And if the [interested groups] come back and decide it’s not [financially] possible to rehab, then you have to make a tough decision as to whether you want to bring the building down or spend money, likely over a $1 million, even if you don’t it increments, to put the building back to running use.”

“We just can’t keep spending money and spending money,” stressed Caira. “We’re talking about a [$173] million brand new school. And, in the future, we’re talking about doing another one over at the Shawsheen School. We’ve got to watch out for the taxpayers. We just got a tax increase of $620 on an average house…. and then another $400 increase on an average house for the new school…. And if the commercial base starts leaving [due to high taxes], the town is going to be up the creek without a paddle.”

“But the town gave us, in my opinion, clear direction to save the building,” responded West. “I don’t want to waste taxpayer money. I’m a taxpayer, too, and pay my share of taxes, so I get it. The Town gave us, order us, authorized us — whatever word you want to use — $615,000 in association with this building. You can say 200 people [voted]. 250 people. 1% of the population. Whatever. It’s the population that showed.”

“If [hiring a design professional] is the way to get an accurate cost of what the building needs, then so be it,” added West, who noted the town would have to hire one anyway for any future town use of the building, even if just for file storage due to the needed installation of a (dry) fire suppression system.

DePalma’s motion ultimately failed — 2 in favor (he & West) and 3 in opposition (Caira, Gearwar and Maselli).

“Motion fails. So, what do we do with the building?,” asked West.

“The rest of the work we said we’re going to do,” responded Gearwar.

“I think what we should do is what we said at the previous meeting — figure out if there’s municipal uses, which I believe there is none, except the storage, and then to see if there’s any public use for it by putting out an RFP [or similar process] through the Town,” added Maselli. “If it’s not going to be used for any municipal use, we shouldn’t be paying a dime. That’s the next step.”

“I agree. That’s what we voted on the last time,” said Gearwar.

“I agree. A request for information first, and then a request for proposal if there’s any interest, so the interested groups can do their due diligence on it,” concurred Caira.

Maselli then made a motion to issue an RFI to determine if groups are interested in using the Buzzell. And Maselli made it clear any improvements to the building we be the financial responsibility of the selected group.

Before the vote, West asked for clarity from the Town Manager if there were any other municipal uses for the building, besides file storage and Town Museum storage.

“There was no other Town Department that wanted the space for active use,” answered Slagle.

Maselli’s motion passed unanimously, 5-0.

The Board then chose not to take a vote on the Town Manager’s recommendations for use of town buildings. Caira also retracted his request to have the OPM, architect and construction company come before the board to explain the storage situation at the new Town Hall, stating that Slagle had adequately clarified it.

Caira then formally made a motion to table the agenda item, which included both (1) voting on whether to rescind the vote to demolish the Buzzell School and (2) whether to endorse the recommendations of the Town Manager. The board approved unanimously, 5-0.

Public Comments

Several residents spoke out during public comments, disappointed with the board’s long and circular discussion.

Christopher Villatoro said listening to the discussion was “rough.” If the building is demolished, he does not want to see it used as a parking lot. “The last thing this town needs is more asphalt.” He would prefer a garden or a park be constructed if the building were to be knocked down, rather than a secondary parking lot for the new Town Hall. The garden or park could be named after the Buzzell.

Rob Fasulo said that some of the board’s comments were “abhorrent.” “Some of you didn’t win your election by the amount of people that showed up at that Town Meeting.” “You guys were given your directive and marching orders… The building is to be saved. That’s it. You don’t have to like it. Town Meeting voted for it. We gave you $615,000…. The fact that the Reuse Committee got numbers written on a napkin to make this decision is insulting to me.” Fasulo also asked if the temporary skating rink will ever be put back at Rotary Park. Slagle said the rink is no longer usable after it sustained damage during past winters. Fasulo also questioned why a portion of the Swain Green was removed during the Town Hall parking lot construction, despite claims from town officials that the Swain Green would not be impacted.

Suzanne Sullivan said it was “painful” to have to listen to the board’s discussion. Sullivan pointed out lots of significant Town Meeting votes in the past were approved by less than 200 voters. “This board was directed to do work at the Buzzell to save it. It’s so clear and evident that this board doesn’t want to do that. So you’re jumping through hoops in every which way so you can to find a way not to do it.. Just be honest it. Try it.” Sullivan noted the Buzzell currently has no heat. “For an old building not to have heat is its death. We do demolition by neglect in this town. We’ve been doing it for years. We did it with the Whitfield. We did it with the Swain. And, FYI, this is the same playbook that the town used with the Whitfield. Use it for file storage. Don’t put heat in it. It will fall apart. We can tear it down in a couple of years. That’s what happened. That’s what you’re trying to do. I’m not stupid. People are not stupid.”

Joe Jackson said, based on the Select Board Meeting on December 3, 2025, he thought the board already had consensus then to publish a Request For Information (RFI). “I’m kind of surprised we’re revisiting the same thing and the indecision.” Jackson shared some suggestions generated from AI on what boards should do when facing indecision and inaction. “Today’s 30 minutes of going around in circles doesn’t have to happen every time.” Jackson noted he’d like to see the Building Reuse Committee get reconvened to help find the future occupants for the Buzzell and score their proposals. Jackson argued the Board doesn’t have buy-in because they don’t appear to know what they want, to do with the Buzzell and some of what they’ve expressed doesn’t align with what the Town Meeting votes say that they want.