MEXICO – The Region 9 board on Tuesday set Jan. 9 for a referendum on a $4.9 million school renovation and expansion project.

Each of the 16 member towns of SADs 21, 43 and 44, and Gilead, Upton and Hanover must hold voting hours that day.

The board also authorized the region’s Facilities Committee to continue negotiations with Alan Archibald for purchasing about three acres next to the Region 9 School of Applied Technology on River Road for the expansion.

A recent offer of $65,000 was rejected by the landowner.

The vote to allow the Facilities Committee to continue negotiations was made after a 50-minute closed session with Region 9’s real estate agent, Roger Whitehouse. He is representing the region at no cost. The sale of the land would be contingent upon voter approval of the expansion and renovation project.

Board members set a special meeting for Dec. 5 to act on the referendum warrant and possibly to act on the land purchase.

The vocational school hopes to build a 17,000-square-foot addition, parking lots and an access road for school buses and truck driving classes. Planned are new vocational programs in automotive technology and early childhood, plus extensive repairs to the building that would allow two of the existing programs to move inside the building, and modifications that would bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The board’s Communications Committee recently completed presentations to the three member districts, and plans to make further presentations to civic groups and town officials.

Some members will appear for a second time before the SAD 44 board on Dec. 11 to provide a more detailed breakdown of project costs. Area selectmen are also expected to attend that meeting.

Funding for the project would come from a combination of state grant, state interest-free loan, and traditional loan over 20 years.

In other matters, the board accepted the resignation of longtime member Marlene Gile, who has sat on the board for at least a decade. She is one of the representatives for SAD 43, and she has agreed to stay on the board until her seat can be filled.