The Town of Bristol should never have entered the private real estate market, as it did several years ago when converting vacant and damaged schools into commercial rental properties.

From the beginning, the plan seemed flawed.

The first champion was the town’s lovable and accomplished Director of Recreation, Walter Burke. Though he retired recently with a long list of recreation and open space achievements, his experience in commercial property management was scarce.

The first real property manager for the empty Byfield and Reynolds school buildings was the town’s retired wastewater treatment plant supervisor, Matt Calderiso — again, a very likable person, skilled at solving problems, but not an experienced commercial property manager.

There were early success stories coming from the two historic buildings on the Town Common — a dynamic theater company staging popular performances; artists turning inspiration into profit; entrepreneurs channeling creativity into commerce. Yet there were troubling signs from the beginning. Leases were vague and sloppy. Communication was inconsistent. Buildings were busted and lacking any long-term solutions.

The two historic buildings were occupied, and that made most people feel good, but there was never a strategic plan or vision for how to make any of it sustainable.

As revealed this week, there are long-term problems at Byfield. The building has major flaws and needs expensive repairs, and the bill will not be paid by the low-rent artists who call it home.

The path forward for Byfield and Reynolds today lies in one of two directions, just as it did  years ago:

1. Get out of the private rental market and find productive, public uses for these properties. Town Administrator Steve Contente hints at such, with his suggestion that Byfield could be a future home to educational programming, early-learning classes and a trades school. Taxpayers would have an easier time paying the long-term repair and maintenance bills for buildings they enter and use on a regular basis.

2. Get out of the private rental market and let an experienced property manager handle all responsibilities, from marketing and management, to repairs and maintenance. Rents will rise, but so will quality of life for the tenants, and rental income for the town’s coffers.

Either way, get out of the private real estate market. Governments should make laws, enforce them, deliver services and protect the health, safety and security of their citizens. They should stick to what they’re really good at.