By ALICIA FEYERHERM
Tiger Media Network
In a 5-2 vote at Monday’s Hays USD 489 Board of Education meeting, the board decided that Lincoln Elementary School will be disposed of through the process of sealed bids after this school year. The nearly 100-year-old elementary school is set to close after this year as part of the bond project. As of September 2021, Lincoln was rated at 44% for Facility Condition and Educational Environment.
Lincoln and Wilson Elementary schools will combine into the current Hays Middle School building and the current Wilson Elementary School will be converted into the administrative building.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said the board had a few options regarding the Lincoln property. The property can be given away, can be marketed through a realtor, or sealed bids can be taken for the property. Wilson said the recommendation was to go with the sealed bid option.
“You can get an appraisal; however, once again, I would recommend that you probably not spend the dollars,” Wilson said.
Wilson said appraisals are based on comparative sales locally and the only other school building purchased in the area was the Washington school building which is now Stonepost Lofts. Revenue generated by the building is also considered in the appraisal process, but since the building is a school, there is no revenue to report.
Board Attorney Bill Jeter has been with the district for many years and has gone through the sale process before.
“As you all know, you have the statutory authority to dispose of property however you feel is in the best interest of the school district,” Jeter said.
Jeter said in the past, the boards have decided to go through the process of sealed bids “with the right to refuse any and all bids,” which is what Jeter recommends for this situation.
“It’s a place to start and see what you get,” Jeter said.
Jeter also noted a change in statute that requires the board to offer the property to the State and give them 45 days’ notice. This 45-day counter does not start until the regular legislative session, which begins in January. Jeter recommended starting the bid process before then and said the board could even enter into a contract as long as there was a contingency.
“We’d have to make a contingency in the contract that we’ve got to offer it to the State first,” Jeter said.
Board member Allen Park said the district could also keep the building and see what it could be used for to benefit the community. Park said that the developers who purchased the Washington property sold the back part of the lot to another developer and made nearly half of their money back just in that sale.
“I’m just looking at options,” Park said.
BOE member Jayme Goetz said that the situation was different because the developers had more money to invest in the property.
“We’re a public education system,” Goetz said. “We can’t do that.”
Wilson also pointed out that renovating older buildings is double or triple the cost of new construction. It would not make sense financially for the district to repair the building.
Park motioned to table the motion until the board received more information, as he felt the board was rushing to a decision.
“If we table it for one or two meetings, what’s the hurt in that?” Park said. “It seems like we’re rushing this.”
Board member Derek Yarmer seconded Park’s motion to table, but no other board member voted in favor.
Board member Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp then motioned to dispose of Lincoln Elementary through the process of sealed bid with the right to refuse any and all bids and the motion passed 5-2 with Park and Yarmer voting against.
Other items voted on at the meeting included:
- Approval of Guaranteed Maximum Price for O`Loughlin Elementary Additions and Renovations for $14,493,478 from Nabholz Construction as part of the bond project.
- Approval of Vogts Construction for construction of a bathroom/concessions building at the Hays Middle School Field/JV for $685,000 and HTK Architects for $68,700 for design, bidding, and construction administration of the project for a total of $753,700
- Approval of funding for a portion of the improvements of 13th Street for $763,449.85 that are needed for the new high school and relocation of Hays Middle School along with the City of Hays to improve the East 13th Street corridor from Canterbury to Commerce.
The next board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Rockwell Administration building.