Milton Town Meeting voted 168-45 on Monday, Oct. 19, to buy the former Labouré College campus for $11.75 million. The deal now requires a townwide vote to approve a temporary tax increase.
All Milton voters will decide a debt-exclusion ballot question in a Dec. 15 special election. If approved, the average single-family homeowner would pay about $130 more per year in property taxes over a 20-year loan, according to the town's website. First-year debt service is estimated at roughly $1.157 million.
The vote, first reported by the Patriot Ledger, came during a special Town Meeting at Milton High School. The 4.7-acre property at 303 Adams St. housed Labouré College until the school closed in August. In February, the college announced its nursing program was transitioning to Curry College, a private college also in Milton.
Select Board Chair Winston Daley said the board coordinated with the schools before pursuing the property and believes the campus is an asset the town should own and control, whether or not it becomes a school.
"It would be irresponsible for us to not explore every possibility and give our schools and our town the best chance to make the best decision," he said.
One option under discussion is consolidating all pre-K and kindergarten classes from the district's four elementary schools onto the Labouré site, freeing space at those buildings, Daley said. District administrative offices could also relocate from Milton High School. He called both ideas preliminary, with no final decisions made.
The purchase drew opposition from some members who worry it could undercut a separate study of a potential middle school on Gile Road. Kevin Donahue, a Precinct 3 Town Meeting member, said before the vote that approving the article would "functionally foreclose" the Gile Road middle school option.
Leroy Walker, another Town Meeting member, pushed back on that framing. Walker said the vote was not about choosing between the two sites. It was about whether to borrow nearly $12 million and let taxpayers make the final call on Dec. 15.
The Select Board approved a purchase-and-sale agreement on Sept. 22, contingent on both Town Meeting approval and the debt-exclusion vote, according to the Patriot Ledger. If the town does not buy the property, the town estimates a developer would need to place about 150 units on the site to make a Chapter 40B development profitable.
Milton's Town Meeting has 279 elected members. Bond issues require a two-thirds vote. The 168-45 margin cleared that threshold.
The Dec. 15 special election will give all registered Milton voters the final say.
