Robie Gym
The Gorham Recreation Department manages Robie Gym, built at a cost of $20,000 with money bequeathed by a Charles Robie, a brother to Gov. Frederick Robie, according to “The Way It Was In Gorham,” by Berha Bridges Willis.
Robie Gym is available for rentals, including parties, at $35 an hour for Gorham residents. An over-40 group plays basketball there and a recreation-sponsored program, a puppy obedience class, is now held in the gym.
Rental fees cover custodian costs and contribute $1,000 to the town’s general fund. But the town pays for heat and lights projected to cost $7,000 for the upcoming year.
The Lions Club raised $25,000 to spearhead a facelift for the gym in the late 1980s.
Sampson House
The so-called Samson House, 77 South St., was leased in 1987 to Gorham Land Trust, now known as the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust. The organization maintains the building, which it leases for $1 annually.
The land trust and Gorham Times are both headquartered at the Sampson House, and the Presumpscot River Watch group does water-quality testing there.
Built by James McLellan in 1803, the Samson House once served as the office for the superintendent of schools. Like the Baxter Memorial Library and Baxter Museum, the Samson House is located in a historic district.
Robie School
Gorham provides rental space for parties and groups at the old Robie School, 668 Gray Road. The town regained use of the school last summer when a lease with the defunct PTA was terminated.
The old school is equipped with a kitchen and a Recreation Department after-school program for 50 to 60 children a day operates there.
The Robie School was built in 1888, costing about $3,000 and named in honor of Gov. Frederick Robie. It closed in the mid 1950s when the Little Falls School opened.
The building opened as a community center seven years ago following a $200,000 renovation by the PTA. It sits on .81 acre and is adjacent to the town-owned Little Falls recreation area that has courts and fields.
Historical Society Building
In a $1-a-year lease from the town, Gorham Historical Society occupies 28 School St., where the town archive is housed. The society first leased it in 1976, but has been extended for an indefinite period.
It had been a town office that the town no longer needed when a new municipal building opened on Main Street in 1974.
Each floor of the historical society has 600 square feet of space. It sits on a small footprint, .02 acre. The two-story brick structure was built in 1843 and later became the first home of Gorham Savings Bank.
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Robie Gym on South Street, built in 1932, is costing Gorham $7,000 a year just for heat and lights. It’s one of some 45 buildings, including schools, fire stations and buildings with token leases to nonprofit groups, listed by the assessor as owned by the town.
Now, with the economy in a tailspin and town and school budgets that cut several jobs, a Gorham committee is beginning an inventory of town owned buildings in a search to save tax dollars.
The Capital Improvements Committee will focus on costs and identify potential expenses for Gorham’s municipally owned buildings.
“(It’s) a top-to-bottom review of all town properties,” said Councilor Phillip Csoros.
At the request of Town Councilor Shonn Moulton last month, the council authorized the Capital Improvements Committee to study the status of municipal buildings. Moulton, a member of the committee, wants an inventory and a look at conditions of buildings to determine which ones still benefit the town.
Csoros, chairman of the committee, expects the examination to begin in May.
Many of the buildings owned by the town are historic, and a couple bear the name Robie.
The Gorham Recreation Department manages Robie Gym, built at a cost of $20,000 with money bequeathed by a Charles Robie, a brother to Gov. Frederick Robie, according to “The Way It Was In Gorham,” by Bertha Bridges Willis.
The father of the two Robie brothers was Toppan Robie, who gave the town its clock. The gym sits on a nearly an acre at the corner of South and Preble streets in downtown Gorham.
Robie Gym is available for rentals, and Cindy Hazelton, Gorham recreation director, said rental fees cover custodian costs and contribute $1,000 to the town’s general fund. But the town pays for heat and lights. projected to cost $7,000 for the upcoming year.
The Lions Club raised $25,000 to spearhead a facelift for the gym in the late 1980s, according to Norman Wedge, of the club. “We gutted it and went right through it,” Wedge said.
Wedge said the town paid for a new boiler and a new roof. Hazelton said the town hasn’t invested a lot of money in Robie Gym.
“It’s quite a resource,” said Hazelton.
Robie’s bequeath once provided the town’s only gym, but the Recreation Department now has a gym in its headquarters at the municipal center, the former junior high.
The town also provides rental space for parties and groups at the old Robie school, 668 Gray Road. The town regained use of the school last summer when a lease with the defunct PTA was terminated.
“We’re trying to get a feel for costs,” said Hazelton, who is preparing projections for Town Manager David Cole about annual operating expenses for the old Robie school, which was built in 1888 and closed in the mid 1950s.
Built in 1843, the Gorham Historical Society building, at 28 School St., is the former town office. Jan Labrecque, president of the society, said the society’s building has leaks and new windows are needed. Last year, the town paid to repair a window and door damaged by a storm.
“That’s all that’s been done for a long time,” Labrecque said.
Pointing to Moulton’s request for an inventory, one town-owned house does not appear on the assessor’s Web list. The so-called Samson House, 77 South St., was leased in 1987 to Gorham Land Trust, now known as the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust. Richard Curtis, president of the trust, said the land trust maintains the building, which it leases for $1 annually. It also subleases space to the Gorham Times, and there is an apartment in the building, as well.
Gorham Assessor Michael D’Arcangelo said he was not aware of the building, but he later confirmed the Samson House has belonged to the town for years.
Built by James McLellan in 1803, the Samson House once served as the office for the superintendent of schools. Like the Baxter Memorial Library and Baxter Museum, the Samson House is located in a historic district.
Gorham also owns a century old rural schoolhouse. The Elmwood School, 414 South St., was built in 1900 on a half-acre site. It is now the headquarters for the Gorham Lions Club. The Lions leased the building for 50 years and has 27 years left.
“Our building is no expense to the town,” said Jim Burnham, a club member.
Csoros said the committee would consult with Cole and the town attorney before recommending plans for any of the properties. Csoros said the town has obligations to maintain what it owns.
The committee is on a mission to gather facts about conditions, costs and responsibilities associated with maintaining town property.
“It’s wise in these hard economic times to take a look,” Moulton said.
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