CArlson $500,000 gift prompts Board to give ESSDC more time
By Lissa Greiner
The clock has been reset on the demolition of East Side School.
But despite a recent $500,000 pledge from Decorah's Frederick "Fritz" Carlson, East Side School Development Committee (ESSDC) is going to have to work faster than ever to save the historic structure.
Last month, the Decorah School Board voted to demolish East Side School, but decided to revisit the issue following Carlson's pledge. In a subsequent meeting, ESSDC asked the Board to delay demolition of the historic structure and provide them with three additional years to raise $2 million toward the $3.2 renovation estimate.
The Board said the committee's request involved too much time and too little money, but reconvened Wednesday after seeking legal counsel from Ailers and Cooney of Des Moines.
After much discussion, the Board said it would not repeal the demolition order, but give the committee until May 1, 2007 to raise $3.24 million, which is 60 percent of $5.4 million, the amount the Board feels is a realistic renovation estimate, which includes ongoing operation of the structure.
Brief history
In 1997, East Side School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance named it as one of the 10 most important, but threatened, buildings in the state.
Following the 1998-1999 school year, East Side was closed after failing to meet state fire-safety standards.
In October of 1999, voters rejected a school bond issue that proposed renovating the historic structure as a school.
In January and October of 2002, school bond issues to build a third- through eighth-grade facility on River Street and make East Side available for alternative uses, such as low-income housing, also failed.
In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed East Side as one of America's 11 most endangered historic places.
Since the summer of 2004, the East Side School Development Committee has been working for the redevelopment of the school as an arts and educational center.
The School Board turned down the committee's offer to continue work on developing the building after a recent feasibility study, funded by the ESSDC, questioned the availability of local money for a fund-raising campaign this year.
The real cost
During Wednesday's meeting, Board Member Ramona Nelson said she had obtained advice from StruXtures Architects of Waterloo, regarding whether or not the committee's $3.2 estimate for renovation of the building was adequate. Nelson said she was advised that, because the estimate was figured early last year, the committee should figure in an additional 20 percent to that total, taking the renovation portion of the project to $3.8 million.
In addition, Nelson and the other Board members expressed concerns about the cost of ongoing maintenance of the structure.
"We have to be the persons delivering this message of realism. We're looking at way more than just the cost of renovation here," said Nelson.
Nelson said she consulted with District Business Manager Doug Nefzger in trying to come up with a reasonable figure for an endowment to be placed aside for ongoing operations and maintenance of the building.
Nelson said costs for items such as utilities, repairs, insurance, a custodian, a building manager, administrative and legal considerations, lawncare and snow removal and an ongoing repair fund are estimated at approximately $177,000 per year.
"We don't know about revenues and we don't know what rent is going to be. If we're going to enter into an agreement for an extended period of time to raise this money, another $2.5 million should be set aside in an endowment to support future operation," said Nelson.
Board Member Melanie Tietz said she has been approached by a number of citizens who have asked about the ongoing costs to maintain the building.
"People are concerned that this is going to be a perpetually needy project. We have to address that," said Tietz.
After much discussion, the Board settled on a target amount of $1.6 for the endowment, bringing the amount ESSDC will need to raise to $5.4 million.
"We're trying to be realistic here. It doesn't do any good for any of us not to be realistic," said Board Member Mark Donhowe.
During the discussion, the Board repeatedly referred back to the Holmes, Radford and Avalon feasibility report commissioned by ESSDC for its figures.
"We've used your information for the most part. It's not like we're just throwing things out in the air … It's not something the School Board did, it's something the committee did," Donhowe.
The Board agreed the committee would have until May 1 of 2007 to raise pledges of $3.24 million. If the committee could show proof of "irrevocable and enforceable" pledges in that amount, the District would then sign a letter of intent to support the project, and the committee would have until May 2 of 2008 to raise the additional $2.16 million.
Prior to the Board making the motion, East Side School Development Committee representative Jim Burns asked the Board for a chance to engage in some negotiation of the figures set forward by the Board, adding, "Some of your figures seem not correct."
Nelson responded that the Board had already acted on demolition and said, "This is a significant piece for us to consider … There have been months, years allocated to this," she said.
"This project isn't going to happen because of what the School Board does and it's not going to happen because of what David Faldet, Jim Burns and a handful of other people do. If the community wants this to happen it will happen," concluded Donhowe.
The motion
Donhowe made the motion, which was seconded by Tietz and passed unanimously.
The Board is operating with only four members at the present time, as David Ranum was forced to resign his seat due to a change in residence. He has filed papers to run for a city District 1 seat in September.
The motion states "that the Board of Education allow the East Side School Development Committee to show funding in cash or irrevocable pledges of $3.24 million by May 1, 2007. If $3.24 million are not raised, the District will proceed with previous Board action and demolish East Side School. If the $3.24 million goal is met, the Board of Education will give a letter of intent, approved by legal counsel, for further fund-raising and obtaining of grants with a deadline of May 1, 2008 to raise an additional $2.16 million in cash, grants or irrevocable enforceable pledges for a total of $ 5.4 million.
In the meantime, the District will not put outside funding into stabilization of the East Side School until the May 1, 2007 fund-raising goal is met.
If the $ 5.4 million goal is met by May 1, 2008, the District will enter into a long-term lease agreement with the East Side School Development Committee."
