The months-long effort by the Town of Orland to sell the old fire station at 91 School House Road, and then apply the proceeds against the outstanding loan used for the construction of the town’s new $3.9 million station on Gray’s Meadow Road, has come to a conclusion, pending final closing.
According to Orland Town Clerk Lisa Smith, the town received five sealed bids by the Monday, October 5 deadline. Immediately after the 4:30 p.m. deadline, the town’s select board met in special session to open and review the bids.
“There were five bids total, and the select board accepted the highest bid,” Smith said, “which was a cash bid for $265,000 from H.O.M.E. Co-op.”
Smith said the town has sent the bid to its lawyer to have the sale and transfer documents for closing prepared, with closing expected in the near future.
Orland Select Board Chair Lester Stackpole confirmed that the net proceeds of the sale would be applied against the outstanding balance for the construction of the new fire station, which was opened in 2025.
The town had originally put the old station up for sale this past year, and had gradually reduced the minimum bid from $400,000 to $200,000 before re-offering the building in mid-September with no minimum bid required.
At the September 17 select board meeting, H.O.M.E had made a proposal to assume ownership of the station for $10,000 and a commitment to expand its services to the town by a value of $250,000 over the next five years.
That proposal, and the fact that the town had not offered the building for sale with no minimum bid required, drew vocal opposition from many of those present.
Rosalani Moore, H.O.M.E.’s Executive Director, said, “We’re really happy that our bid was successful. I think it’s a good result for H.O.M.E. and we hope that the community agrees.”
Moore expects that the sale will be concluded within 30 days and expects that there will be no complications because the building is being sold as is and is not subject to additional inspections.
“We understand that our bid was high,” Moore said, “specially in comparison to the tax assessed value, but part of our reason for that was the people in the town wanted to get money to use against the loan for the new fire department station.”
“So we took that into account,” Moore said, “and then, too, that we are a nonprofit and generally don’t generally pay taxes on property, so our higher bid is partly in lieu of that.”
Founded in 1969, H.O.M.E. offers a wide range of community services, including emergency shelters and housing assistance, a soup kitchen and food pantry, community support resources, childcare, and arts and crafts classes.
Moore said that paying to purchase the building, which is across the street from H.O.M.E.’s campus, “does mean it will probably take longer for us to make some of the renovations we want to do, especially for some types of activities and uses we have in mind, but there are things we can do right away that won’t be a problem.”
Funding the purchase of the old fire station, Moore said, was made possible because, “the organization just felt we needed to do this to make the organization whole and for the community.”
“We always welcome donations and funding,” Moore said, “and we are always seeking volunteers and contributions to our thrift store. It all helps.”