Town Meeting members voted to indefinitely postpone the Select Board’s request for authorization to sell the old police station.

A story on the full Tuesday, June 4 Town Meeting is available now.

Located at 247 Russells Mills Road, the property was abandoned in 2014 after legionella bacteria, which can cause a severe type of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease, was discovered in the plumbing.

Dartmouth Historical Commission member Chris Sewall and other members of the commission have argued the building can still be rehabilitated and would be a worthy cause for the town. 

Prior to the meeting, the Finance Committee voted 1-5 in favor of recommending approval and the Select Board voted 5-0.

Finance Committee Chair Robert Gauvin said the majority opinion was that the request was “vague” and “grants authority without any detail” and the property has not proven to be something the town can’t use in the future.

In favor of the request, Finance Committee member Teresa Hamm said the building is in “terrible shape” and reminded everyone that Town Meeting had already voted to demolish it. 

She argued the expenses to maintain such a building outweigh the value of keeping it.

Approximately $450,000 was awarded to the town at a prior Town Meeting to fund the demolition. According to Town Administrator Shawn MacInnes, if the town were to seek demolition now, this amount would not be sufficient for the project due to costs that have risen.

The majority of Town Meeting members who spoke, did so in favor of not selling the property, agreeing with the points made about the lack of information and the value it could potentially be for the town. 

Finance Committee Vice Chair Janine Simmons highlighted the features of the property that go beyond the old police station. She said there is an almost 28-acre collection of town parcels connected in that area, with requests from the town to purchase additional property in that area as recent as two years ago.

In addition, the property also includes the Dartmouth Community Television building, two storage buildings, a WWI memorial and a 150-foot FCC regulated antenna tower that provides internet access to town sites south of the property such as The Bucket and harbormaster's office, according to Simmons.

“It’s a very valuable Dartmouth asset,” Simmons said.

With the property zoned residential, according to MacInnes, those in favor of the sale highlighted the benefits of increased tax revenue, without the burden on the town for what to do with the old police station. 

However, some Town Meeting members didn’t believe the revenue received would outweigh the value of it under town ownership, with one member comparing the possible revenue to “peanuts.”

Finance Committee member Brain O’Hare said he heard an appraisal was done for the property and would have liked to have that information prior to the vote.