YMCA or senior housing could come to Witt School

Mark your calendars: On June 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. Stafford will hold a community information meeting at the Senior Center to talk next steps at the Witt School. Specifically, they will explore about the timeline and safety plan for hazardous material remediation this summer. But we also learned at the June 3, 2026, Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting that the Town has received two very different but exciting proposals for reuse and needs to do a different kind of clean-up before work begins. 

Director of Grants and Community Development, Amber Wakley-Whaley, asked the BOS to waive the bidding ordinance so that she can get years worth of junk hauled out of the school before work begins. Apparently, over the years, everything from wheelchairs to lawn mowers has gone to Witt School to die. The contractors need the place cleaned out to start demolition and abatement, but that part of the clean-up isn’t covered under the EPA grant. 

So, Wakley-Whaley has received bids from several contractors—ranging from $30,000 to $60,000—as well as asked the contractors bidding on the abatement work to include clean-out in their bids. Those are due on Monday. Once all the bids are in, Director of Public Works, John Whetton, said the work must move quickly to stay on schedule. While Wakley-Whaley said she thought moving forward with the lowest bidder would be the best course of action, she also noted that if one of the contractors bidding on the abatement work could handle the work at a slightly higher price—but also coordinate the efforts—it may make sense to choose them. 

Whetton estimated it would take 20-25 30 yard dumpsters to clear out the building. The funding for this will mostly come from the Capital Projects Fund.

Now that the boring bidding and abatement talk is out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff.

Wakley-Whaley also said the town has received two proposals for reuse. 

One came from Michaels Organization, which wants to build a mixed-used space that included affordable housing for people who are 55 and older. There would also be a common space for wellness programming, community events, and non-profit purposes. 

The other proposal came from the YMCA of Greater Hartford, which would build a multi-purpose community center. The preliminary vision—which the YMCA looks to shape over time through community input—includes childcare, senior wellness, youth and summer camps, and general community event space.

The next step, said Wakley-Whaley, would be for both organizations to present their visions to the Stafford community. 

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