By George P. Hassett

The alderman for Ward 7 has pledged to oppose any plans city officials may have of selling the property where the Powder House Community School sits.

Alderman Robert C. Trane said the city has “a long history of selling off property every time a bill comes in” and he will not support any effort to do that with the Powder House Community School site. “I’m going to fight hard to keep this one,” he said.

He pointed to the city’s sale of the old Western Junior High School building to Tufts. Today, he said, city programs that use the building pay rent to the college.

Trane wants to see the building used as a youth center for West Somerville kids who have little access to the city’s only building for youth programs at 155 Broadway, on the opposite side of the city. He said the building is a perfect fit for youth programs of all kinds.

“It’s got everything we need. It has a gym for sports. And not every kid wants to bounce a basketball so you could add art and music programs in the theater. Youth programs are such a huge community need, especially on the west side of the city, and this building could be used to address that need,” he said.

Alderman-at-Large John M. Connolly said he constantly hears concerns from constituents about the lack of recreational options for West Somerville kids. “It is a complaint that comes up a lot and we are in dire need of space,” he said.

Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah L. Gewirtz also spoke against selling off the property.

The school was closed in June 2006 because of declining enrollment and its outdated facilities. The city currently pays $66,930 a year to maintain it. A property review committee commissioned by the city strongly recommended selling the school in order to avoid operating costs and take advantage of its high real estate value.

City spokeswoman Jacqueline Rosetti said keeping the school in use as a youth center may prove costly.

‚ÄúYouth services are important to the administration but it will take $40 million to rehab [the Powder House school] and the city may be losing a lot more than its gaining,‚Äù she said.