Town Applying for $1.3 Million Grant for Witt School Remediation

“The Witt School must be abated no matter what,” said First Selectman Bill Morrison at the December 3, 2025, Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting. Whether you’re hoping it will be knocked down, turned into a new Town Hall, or become some mix of residential, commercial, and community space, something needs to be done about the asbestos, lead, and PCBs that run rampant throughout the decrepit building. With $780,000 already secured through the EPA to get remediation underway, the town still needed to close the funding gap needed to get the job done. 

Amber Wakley-Whaley, Stafford’s Director of Grants & Community Development, is turning to the Community Investment Fund (CIF) to try to secure the roughly $1.3 million needed. CIF fosters "economic development in historically underserved communities across the state. CIF will provide a total of up to $676 million to eligible municipalities as well as not-for-profit organizations and community development corporations that operate within them,” according to the program’s website. 

According to Wakley-Whaley, Stafford’s grant request is actually on the low end for this program. While she has struggled to find other grant programs this project would qualify for, brownfield remediation is an acceptable use for the CIF grant. 

Selectman Tim Cromwell noted that the EPA money has an expiration date. “Anything we do now is an investment in the future,” he said. Wakley-Whaley added that the EPA also wants to see that Stafford is combining the funds with those from other sources. Armed with letters of support for the Board of Selectmen, all the way up to Stafford’s congressional delegation, and direction from CIF that suggests this smaller, more targeted ask makes for a better application, the grant request is nearly ready to be submitted. 

“The current condition has really been a deterrent,” Wakley-Whaley said regarding developer interest in the property. The BOS voted to approve the resolution allowing the grant application to proceed.

Later in the meeting, Wakley-Whaley said that Weston & Sampson, the company the Town has been collaborating with on the Witt project, is working on preparing the specs for the bid process. Another community meeting will be held as part of that process. Morrison and Wakley-Whaley also noted that they plan to hold additional meetings to gather feedback and better understand what the town would like to see at the top of the hill in Hyde Park. 

“It’s a structure in the middle of a park in a historic area,” said Wakley-Whaley, adding that whatever goes in will be there for a long time.