AG: Upton Building sale was legal
"The town of Westminster may sell or use the property for another purpose." - LETTER FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

The sale of the Upton Building to the Historical Society has cleared one more hurtle this month after the state Attorney General's Office staff gave the approval for the transfer of the building.

Selectman John Fairbanks said he hoped this decision by the AG's Office would put an end to the discussion about the legality of the sale.

The letter from the AG's office confirmed the decision by the town's attorney that stated the building could be sold because the original deed donating the building did not create a charitable trust but instead "a simple covenant."

"The town of Westminster may sell or use the property for another purpose, including the proposed plan to sell the Upton School building to the Westminster Historical Society."

The letter from the AG's Office said the state does not plan to take any action at this time.

The AG's Office would not immediately release the letter from a Westminster resident that caused the review of the sale. The review was not filed in the court system so the paperwork is not automatically public record.

"It was something we had to check into before we even put it up for sale," Town Coordinator Karen Murphy said.

Murphy said town officials were confident in the decision by Seewald so they were not holding up the process of transferring the property to the Historical Society.

Murphy said since voters approved the ground lease for the building the transfer of the property is easier. She said the Society will be leasing about 10 feet around the building on three sides and then the land from the building to Academy Road on the fourth side of the building to allow for parking.

Murphy said the lawyers are working other purchase and sales agreement between the Historical Society and the town, which should then quickly move into the sale of the building.

The town received one bid for the former school building because the requests for proposals were asking for the buyer to keep the building as an educational facility. The Society plans to use the building as its main headquarters as well as an educational and research facility.

"We wanted to keep in character with the uses in that area," Murphy said.

The town has already received permission to sell the building from the Ashburnham Westminster Regional School Committee (three times over the last 10 years) and the School Committee has received permission from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MSBA cited that the building was allowed to be sold if it would not interfere with the educational plan the district had setup for the community.

The town has already removed all of the items it was storing in the building, she said. The utilities for the building have also already been separated from those lines running to Westminster Elementary School.

Once the building is transferred the Historical Society will have to raise money for the renovation and maintenance of the building. The Society is a private nonprofit organization.