Driving school owner wins bid to purchase town building

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BEACON FALLS — There might soon be at least one more piece of property on the tax rolls.

The Board of Selectman recently voted 2-1 to sell a building on Old Turnpike Road, which is currently being used by the town as a storage facility.

The high bidder, Seth Reichardt, owns Elite Driving School, just down the road.

“Right now, all it is just an offer. I don’t want to think too far ahead and get my hopes up,” Reichardt said.

He was the only bidder for the property last time it went out to bid, but the deal fell through.

If he closes on the property, Reichardt said he would like to make it a permanent home for his driving school.

“I’m not going to be celebrating until there’s a close on it,” he said.

His bid was for $50,000.

First Selectman Susan Cable said the property has been sitting there without any real plans for development. Plus, it has to be brought up to code.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a matter of getting the paperwork done,” Cable said.

Cable said she hopes to use the money from the property as seed money for the Wolfe Avenue and Toby’s Pond projects.

“We’re just at a point right now that we need to bring in some revenue into the town,” Selectman Michael Krenesky said.

Krenesky said after the harsh winter and snow removal costs, the town is scraping the bottom of its budget.

“The advantage to us is we get immediate revenue that we need,” Krenesky said.

Sorrentino, the dissenting vote, felt the property was worth more.

“While we think the property is worth more than what we sold it for, we don’t have people clamoring to buy it,” Kreneksy contended.