School to consider purchase
The Greene County Schools board of education will consider purchasing the former armory for use as a bus garage at its regular meeting Monday.
The county board of supervisors earlier Monday held a public hearing and then passed a resolution to sell the building to the school district for $250,000.
By the Code of Iowa, a public hearing is required for a public body to sell property but not to buy property. The school board could approve the purchase tonight. The meeting begins at 6:30 pm at the administrative building at 204 W. Harrison St in Jefferson.
At the supervisors’ hearing county engineer Wade Weiss repeated much of what has been said previously – that the county’s ownership was meant to be temporary until a more suitable use was found, and that the sale gives the county an opportunity to build new space to replace the cold storage at the armory.
The new space will be built with as forward look to eventually having a new shop for the secondary roads department. Estimated cost of the new structure is $380,000, a net cost of $130,000 to the county. The funds are available in the county’s budget and will not require additional taxes.
The supervisors’ vote to sell the building was not unanimous. Supervisor Mick Burkett of Grand Junction cast a dissenting vote. “I don’t have a problem with building a new facility. I just feel this is the wrong time for the whole thing. I can’t vote for it,” he said.
The school board voted two weeks ago to close the Intermediate School in Grand Junction (formerly the East Greene School) as an attendance center. Students in grades 4-6 attend school there now.
Burkett said he doesn’t disagree with moving the students to Jefferson, but he worries about what will happen to the vacant school. “We have enough old buildings in Grand Junction already,” he said. “I’d rather see the school pay $250,000 to raze that building than to buy something new right now.”
The school district now leases space for bus storage at the Greene County Fairgrounds. The Fair Association is ready to move to Phase 3 of its capital improvement project – a new beef barn – and that has impacted the school’s use of space at the fairgrounds.
Weiss suggested the project could be delayed one year. School superintendent Tim Christensen, in attendance at the county public hearing, explained that the Fair Association has given the school a Dec. 1 deadline for making a decision about vacating the facility. He said the school’s use of space in the show ring has already been changed and that he sees further limits on space available should the school remain there.
Gary Schiltz, fairgrounds superintendent, agreed that the Association’s decisions for Phase 3 are based on the school’s decision to relocate bus storage.
There was brief discussion about water and sewer service to the former armory. There is city water service but not city sanitation; there is a large septic system designed to serve the National Guardsmen that were original users of the facility. The toilets have not been used in the six years of county ownership. Per the sales agreement, the school will be liable for any cost to work or modifications to the system needed. The school is purchasing the property “as is.”
Supervisor Guy Richardson said he knows the “consternation” caused by the timing of the purchase and that he hopes the school board will “do something about the Grand Junction building to alleviate the fears.” “In the long run, this transaction is good for the county and it will ultimately be good for the school,” he said.
Weiss noted that the school several years ago approached the county about using the fueling station at the Jefferson county shed, but the time of day busses would be fueling made it not possible. He said having a fueling station at the bus garage at the armory will be an advantage to the school district.
The purchase agreement states a closing date of July 3, 2017.
