Plainfield wants to demolish its dilapidated former high school annex. But not yet.

PLAINFIELD – Officials hope a months-long pause in plans to raze the dilapidated former Plainfield high school annex – at an anticipated cost of up to half-a-million dollars - will keep the town's rainy day fund in a healthy position.

The Board of Selectman on Monday voted to request the finance board approve using up to $500,000 from the town’s general fund to demolish the vacant annex building and conduct remediation at the Putnam Road property.

But First Selectman Kevin Cunningham said on Tuesday he wants to wait until the fall before sending the funding request out to the public for final expenditure approval.

“Right now we have a healthy fund balance of 12.5% and pulling out $500,000 would reduce that account to about 11 ¾%, which is okay, but I don’t want to dip that far down,” he said. “By waiting until October, we’ll have a better idea of the tax revenue we anticipate to be receiving from a couple of new businesses, like Amazon.”

A town’s fund balance serves as a financial bulwark against economic uncertainty – like an unanticipated lack of state funding – and generally accepted accounting practices recommend a town have enough money set aside to run a town for between two to three months.

LGBTQ+ tourism in CTCould Norwich take notes from Provincetown, Mass.?

Towns with healthy fund balances regularly draw on those accounts for emergency expenditures and one-time big ticket projects. But if a town’s fund balance account drops too far, it can affect a municipality’s credit rating and make borrowing for expensive projects a more expensive endeavor.

The annex, which two outside engineering firms and a town inspection found to be unsafe for occupancy and in an advance stage of deterioration, is shuttered to the public.

“We did have a recent break-in, but the property has been re-secured and we’re closely monitoring the site,” he said. “It’s not going to hurt anything by waiting a few months to take it down, though I’d like to see that work done before the winter.”

Based on one estimate, it’ll cost $52,000 to remove embedded asbestos and PCB-containing lighting ballasts from the building and another $415,000 to demolish the structure. Cunningham said the town looked to secure matching grants for the work, but none were available.

After Uvalde, TXWill armed guards in Connecticut schools happen? Here's what 3 districts are saying

Board of Finance Chairman Dean Gorman said he’s had discussions with Cunningham on the funding request, but no formal presentation on the plan.

“We hope to get that in a couple of months,” he said.

If the expenditure is approved by the finance board, the item will be presented to voters at a town meeting and subsequent referendum vote.

“By waiting, we can get a better handle on that new tax revenue,” Gorman said. “We’ve got some businesses here that haven’t really yet begun operations, but we expect them to start generating tax revenue soon.”

Death of Brenton ChambersDeath of man in Norwich police custody ruled accidental drug overdose. What we know.

Gorman said if the town moves too fast it leaves itself vulnerable.

“We don’t want to be in a position where we have to cut services or not be able to make payroll because our fund balance dipped too far down,” he said. “That building has been inspected and deemed unsafe, but short-term safety measures have been taken.”

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.