[UPDATED] What Should the Town Do With the Old East Haven High School?

Updated at 4 p.m. on Friday

The Mayor's Office has released a detailed summary of all three proposals for the old East Haven High School, which will be up for consideration by the town's voters as a referendum item on next month's Election Day ballot.

The summary can be found here.

Original Story

The old East Haven High School sits and waits. The building, at 200 Tyler Street, has been vacant since the school shut its doors in 1997.

The only life that remains inside the 1936 structure, which sits on a prime 8-acre parcel in the center of East Haven, is the and the community pool.

In hopes of reviving the 8-acre property, East Haven Mayor April Capone formed a in hopes its members would develop recommendations for the best future use of the town-owned property.

Unable to narrow it down to just one choice — community use, educational use or sell the property to condominimum developers — town officials decided to through a referendum on the Nov. 8 municipal election ballot.

The Town Council approved that referendum's final language at its regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 6 (see meeting minutes in the gallery at the right that accompanies this article).

Through the referendum, voters are given three choices of directing town officials of how to move forward in determining the vacant building's future:

1. Shall the property located at 200 Tyler Street be rehabilitated at a cost to the Town and used for educational purposes?

2. Shall the property located at 200 Tyler Street be rehabilitated at a cost to the Town and used for community purposes?

3. Shall the property located at 200 Tyler Street be sold by the Town for condominium use?

A proposed deal in 2006 to sell the parcel to private developers that wanted to build senior housing was quickly squashed after public opinion at that time came out strongly against it.

And other proposasl to turn the building into a town government center with municipal offices could prove to have a heavy price tag for the town as far as renovation and construction costs.

Although voters will have their official say next month, East Haven Patch is taking a preliminary look at what residents think is the best future use for the vacant building.

Cast your vote in the poll and/or leave your suggestion in the comments section below.

And Patch will be sure to let you know the vote's final results in an updated article later this week.