Can Parmenter School Site Really Become New Police Station?

One of the most frequently mentioned topics to come out of the recent school redistricting, which saw the closure of the John F. Kennedy School and the Gerald M. Parmenter School, is the idea that the latter, with its extensive acreage and proximity to King Street and I-495, would be an excellent spot for a police station -- a quest that has occupied a special town committee for the past few years.  

Town Manager Jamie Hellen has often cited Parmenter as his preferred site for such a use.

But during Citizen's  Comment time at Wednesday's Town Council meeting, Jane Callaway, punched a potentially fatal hole in the idea.

She noted that the Parmenter school land was donated to the town of Franklin by the Parmenter family in memory of their son, Gerald M. Parmenter, who attended and graduated from the Franklin school system before losing his life at war. According to the land deed, the town had three years to build a school on the property, or the land would revert back to Gerald's parents, the original owners. The town met this requirement, and a school was built and opened in 1952.

However, the deed specifies that the land is intended to be used for children, and for a school in particular. A police station does not fit the bill.

Callaway said she consulted several lawyers and as well as legislators from  other towns, and they all agreed,  that the only way to use this land for a police station is to petition the courts to alter the original deed. 

Given such a significant impediment, Callaway asked why weren't residents made aware of it, especially since the future use of the Davis Thayer school has also been under discussion as a potential police station.

 "My only other thought," Callaway told the Council, "is that since the deed restriction was filled in a deed in 1950, they would have to record a notice of restriction again before January 1, 1964 or to the expiration of 50 years. Has the title of this property been reviewed and/or the Parmenter family notified of the town's decision to make this property a Police Station? If the title has been reviewed, will the Town Council share the title with the public?

Callaway stated that the Parmenter family's wishes for the land, " donated in memory of their son, a Franklin resident and war hero," should come first and if the school must be closed, the building should be repurposed in a way that benefits the neighborhood and provides a place for children. 

An image of the Deed document appears below: