ATHOL – The future of the Bidwell barn – despite what appears to be unanimous support among Selectboard members for its demolition – has yet to be decided, according to Town Manage Shaun Suhoski.

“I don’t know about the Historical Society,” he said, “but we have a letter on file from the (town’s) Historical Commission, and they want to participate in any decisions relative to the barn. So, no decisions have been made yet.”

Suhoski pointed out that earlier this year, Town Meeting approved funds to hire a structural engineer to assess the condition of the barn. He said the town needs to determine the barn’s immediate needs.

“The barn, I think, is going to generate a lot of discussion in the community, and I don’t want to speak for the board on this – the board can speak for themselves – but I would say people don’t need to get panicked,” he said. “Nothing is happening to the barn; we’re not doing anything. The only thing we’ll do is we’re going to get an assessment done to know what order of magnitude costs it might be to secure the facility and its condition so that people can make their decision down the road.”

Suhoski said he does have his own ideas relative to the barn.

“Regardless of the plan we have for the land, we could have a pavilion – think of Silver Lake Park – we could have a beautiful pavilion for outdoor events, with a roof,” he said. “Or we could repurpose the barn. We can figure that out as we learn more about what it would cost and what the community wants to do. So, we’re not ruling anything in or out – at least at this stage.”

In 2009, voters at the Annual Town Meeting voted to purchase the South Athol Road property for $500,000.

Land options

In the wake of a recent Selectboard meeting, Suhoski has been in discussions with a consultant to develop options for the 100-acre, town-owned Bidwell property.

At the board’s meeting on Dec. 5, members expressed interest in uses that would generate income for the town, while at the same time expanding outdoor recreational activities. A public meeting has been scheduled for Jan. 30 to present some of the options developed by BSC Group.

“We need to confirm some additional work items with the consultant,” said Suhoski, “so that we can further advance an option that focuses on open space, along with some limited recreation, as well as an option that maybe includes a modest component of housing, or some component that would help to finance improvements to the land.”

One option – the least expensive – is simply to leave the property in its current state, possibly asking a Town Meeting to convey the property to some entity for conservation purposes. Or, said Suhoski, the consultant could consider an option for largely preserving the land while allowing for some passive recreational opportunities, such as development of the Rabbit Run Rail Trail. Those types of options, he said, had substantial support in a recently completed community survey.

“There was some support on the board,” Suhoski said, “and I personally, as town manager, support a hybrid measure, where there would be some measure of housing – done in accordance with our zoning bylaws – that would help to finance the plan for the land. So, the taxpayers get back their investment from all those years ago, and perhaps we’re able to improve the rail trail, preserve the barn, or build a pavilion; to get the plan to fruition.”

A fourth option, which will not be considered by BSC, is commercial/industrial development on the property. That option generated very little support in the community survey.

More than once, Selectboard Chair Andy Sujdak has raised the possibility of a gravel operation on the property but, said Suhoski, “I did not get a sense that I’ve been directed to look at gravel operations. I didn’t get that from the discussions, so I don’t think people should worry about that happening anytime soon – or even at all. I think what (the board) is looking for is a way to monetize the property the taxpayers acquired.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.