By Kristine Thomas
What would you recommend the
Silver Falls School District
do with the Eugene Field School
property?
Our Town posted the question
above on Facebook.
If you would like to provide your input,
go to our Facebook page:
facebook.com/ourtown.smasm
or email [email protected]
Here are a few comments:
Dana Smith: Sell it to private developer.
We cannot afford to maintain antiquated systems,
let alone upgrade structure or technology required
for public use. In addition, as private facility,
the city could receive much needed property
tax income for other needed infrastructure projects.
Teresa Hackney-Warriner:
Let me move SACA
(Silverton Area Community Aid) there.
Lori Webb: Sell it.
The ideas have been discussed for many years – but this may be the first time it has been done with a possible deadline.
The Eugene Field Task Force recently recommended to the school board to permanently close Eugene Field and provide a new location for students by the 2016 -17 school year. The task force also recommended placing a bond on the November ballot.
If the Silver Falls School Board decides to close Eugene Field, what should be done with the building and the property?
At a Feb. 24 joint meeting of the Silver Falls School Board and the Silverton City Council, the two public bodies meet in a work session to discuss the future of the Eugene Field property. The more-than-a-hour-long discussion raised more questions than answers.
Questions included: Could the city use the property for its new, required police facilities? Should it be sold to a private developer? What are the costs of renovating the building versus razing it? Are there citizens who would want to work to preserve the historic building?
Although the school board has yet to discuss the task force recommendation or take any action, the proposal has sparked a sense of urgency for the school board to begin considering its options.
As the council and the board discussed ideas for the 93-year-old building, members concurred they would have to meet again to share answers to the questions.
Silver Falls School Board Chair Tim Roth presided over the meeting, which was officially a work session for the school board. He thanked the city council members for attending and welcomed their input on the building.
One reason the city council was asked to attend was because on its “to do list” is finding a new home for the Silverton Police Department by 2023. By then the police department needs to be in an earthquake-proof facility as mandated by the state of Oregon.
Renovating the school for use as a police station was one idea on the table. In order to determine if that would be feasible, the council would need to know the selling price for the building and property. It would have to weigh the costs of refurbishing the building to meet codes versus the cost of building a new facility.
City Councilor Bill Cummins inquired what the difference in cost would be to renovate the building to meet the codes and needs for a police station versus taking the building down and starting from scratch.
“Is the value of the property worth more than building?” he asked.
Silverton Mayor Stu Rasmussen said both the school district and the city council have a long laundry list of what they need to do.
The city’s list includes considering a parks and recreation district, repairing decaying streets and relocating the police department, Rasmussen said.
Since the school district and the city are the two biggest taxing bodies, Rasmussen said it’s important they work together to get “the biggest bang for our buck.”
One reason the Eugene Field Task Force recommended closing the school is the location, between two highways. Plus the building is in need of repairs.
School board members and councilors discussed the pros and cons of renovating the building versus tearing it down. Several people shared how the historical building is valued by community members who want to preserve it.
“There is an enormous affection for the old building and there are people who want to save it,” school board member Dave Beeson said. “While it is an amazing piece of history, it is no longer suitable to educate children.”
City Councilor Laurie Carter said she remembers talking about closing Eugene Field 30 years ago when her daughters were in school. She expressed her concerns over the school’s safety, especially if there was an earthquake.
“The sentimental value of Eugene Field is not worth the loss of lives,” she said.
The board and the council also discussed the idea of a bond measure for the November ballot and what the bond would have to include to garner support from both the district’s outlying-area and in-town taxpayers.
One idea to garner support was to focus on replacing Eugene Field while upgrading security and technology needs for all district schools.
Roth asked about selling the building to a private developer who could preserve the building and use it for other uses – like a McMenamins.
City Councilor Ken Hector recommended a market analysis be done to help set the property’s value and to determine if there would be any interest from a private developer.
“It’s great to talk about what might be but we need to see if there is any interest in Oregon or beyond,” he said.
Before the school board could list the property for sale, it would have to declare it as surplus property in a public meeting and go through the state-mandated steps to advertise it for sale.
From listening to the comments of his fellow board members and the city councilors, Roth said the school board needs to start to define what it plans to do next about Eugene Field and provide details.
“We didn’t come here to make any decisions,” Beeson said. “We came here to learn what the other is thinking and share information. We know the well for public projects is a lot smaller so we need to work together.”
Both board members and councilors agreed it was productive to meet and learn from one another about what the other public body is working on.
“We are trying to help people understand we are all in this together,” Beeson said. “We are all working toward a common goal.”
