The future of the Dal Hall Boulevard building in Lake Placid remains under discussion after the Lake Placid Town Council voted Monday to move forward with a Request for Interest, or RFI, for the town-owned property near Bicentennial Park.
The RFI does not approve a lease, sale or specific use of the building. Instead, it allows interested organizations, nonprofits or other parties to submit ideas for how the Dal Hall building could be used and what benefit that use could bring to the Town of Lake Placid and the surrounding community.
The discussion comes as the Boys & Girls Club of Highlands County continues to express interest in opening a Lake Placid location.
Janice Rear, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Highlands County, addressed the council and said the organization remains interested in using the Dal Hall building for a youth program in Lake Placid. Rear said the club would offer structured after-school programming for children, similar to Boys & Girls Club programs already operating in Avon Park and Sebring.
Rear said the Dal Hall property could work well because of its location and proximity to the playground at Bicentennial Park. She told council the fire marshal had indicated the building could accommodate 65 people. That number appears to be incorrect; the building’s posted occupancy is 60.
Council members also discussed the building’s current condition, ongoing costs and the larger question of whether the town should lease, sell or otherwise use the property. The Town of Lake Placid purchased the property in connection with protecting access to Bicentennial Park and the playground.
Councilman Greg Sapp said he believed the original intent of buying the property was to secure the playground, not necessarily to keep the building long term. Other council members said they were open to receiving proposals but wanted more information about what public benefit, community use or financial return could come from the property.
The RFI is intended to give the Lake Placid Town Council options before making any final decision. The town attorney noted that the process is not binding and does not require the council to accept any proposal.
Responses are expected to come back to council later this summer.
For now, the future of the Dal Hall Boulevard building remains undecided. The RFI gives the Town of Lake Placid a way to hear from interested groups, including the Boys & Girls Club of Highlands County, before determining the next step for the property near Bicentennial Park.
