Southern Indiana town looks for proposals for closed school

NEW HARMONY, Ind. (AP) — A southern Indiana town is looking for proposals for a vacant school building from a district that closed in 2012.

New Harmony's school district, one of Indiana's smallest, was consolidated with the neighboring New Posey district. The town bought the New Harmony school building for $10 and North Posey had a two-year lease through June, but it didn't use the building.

The Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/1G5kxu2 ) reports New Harmony's town council hasn't received any proposals from developers for the 60,000-square-foot building. The council voted to solicit proposals in January, and the deadline is April 10. Proposals would have to give details about developer's past performance as well as finances.

Monthly maintenance and utilities at the 25-year-old building were estimated to cost $1,500 to $3,000. Wilson said utilities will still cost about $300 after most were shut off earlier this year.

Town council member Andrew Wilson said Monday he expects at least one proposal by the deadline. Informal proposals to take down the school and make it into green space are between $350,000 and $400,000, Wilson said.

If the council gets proposals from developers, Wilson said council members would likely review them at their next meeting April 16.

"And then we will enter into negotiations with the preferred developer or developers and determine the best deal for everybody," he said. "That's what we're hoping for."

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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com

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