Board workshop tackles new school sites

COEUR d’ALENE — The Coeur d’Alene School District has optioned property on Prairie Avenue and is going through the due diligence process, said Superintendent Stan Olson on Thursday. Director of finance and operations Chris Shipley said the three contiguous parcels of property on Prairie Avenue appraised at just over $1 million but will cost $1.12 million to purchase. According to district documents, associated costs for the 7.2 acres of land would hike the sales tag to $1.79 million thanks to $150,000 in sewer cap fees, $60,400 in on-site sewer, $50,000 in annexation costs, $46,800 in demolition costs, up to $350,000 for a traffic light, and other expenses.

Senior landscape architect Jonathan Mueller of Architects West said based on conversations he had with Lakes Highway District officials, a traffic study would be necessary to determine if the traffic light was needed. But he added that in his 30 years of experience, traffic signals are not unusual for a school site.

Board member Tom Hearn objected to the district paying for it. “It doesn’t seem reasonable to me that the district would have to pay for a stoplight.”

Board member Lisa May forcefully expressed her disappointment with the news. Paying more than the appraisal price, and the cost of a $250,000-350,000 traffic light, was “a deal-breaker for me,” she said. Olson countered that in this real estate market, variables constantly change. “We’ll have to deal with it,” he said. He opined that previous boards may have been prevented from acting on land acquisition by similar concerns. That could have led to the district’s present shortage of school properties upon which to build new schools, he said.

Olson advised purchasing land for future schools now, and using a future bond to ask voters for money to build the schools. The district has money to pay for the land now, he said.

“The dollars are there to do these things, the timing is there, and the concept of how to make that work is there — using the next bond along the way,” Olson said.

May later explained that when the board voted in February to build a new elementary school at the Hayden Lake Elementary School site, that decision was premised on the notion that affordable land was unavailable in the northwestern quadrant of the school district, and that by building at Hayden Lake, the district could open doors to the new elementary school in the fall of 2019. Both of those circumstances have changed, May said.

The board made every effort to find land to build a new elementary school in the northwestern section of the community, May said.

“I feel guilty and let down that we didn’t achieve that purpose,” May said.

Hearn said he had no problem with buying the land at the purchase price, but wanted the school district to negotiate with the highway district for a better deal on the traffic light. “I think we proceed on this,” Hearn said. Board chair Casey Morrisroe noted that the board was not making a decision on the Prairie Avenue property at the Thursday meeting. However, the district needed to make a decision or seek an extension before May 30, he said.

A boundary change will afford the district another opportunity to look at land purchases, said the superintendent. A boundary adjustment between the Post Falls School District and Coeur d’Alene School District will be on the State Board of Education’s agenda at its June 20-21 meeting in Idaho Falls, said Olson. The adjustment would make Huetter Road the boundary between the two districts. It’s a natural boundary line that makes sense and will simplify things for residents, he said. All current students impacted by the boundary revision change would be grandfathered in, and allowed to remain in their current schools, he added.

“We have some wonderful prospects of land acquisition at very reasonable rates for a mid-term to long-term plan,” he said. Hearn said the potential for 30-50 acres near Huetter Road would be large enough to build a campus hosting several schools. Board member Dave Eubanks suggested that up to 80 acres might be obtainable.

The district is also moving forward with a memorandum of understanding with the city of Hayden regarding building a new elementary school at the present Hayden Lake Elementary School site, said Olson. The MOU is still in rough draft form. The total cost to the district would be $108,100 according to district documents. Maintenance director Bryan Martin said if everything went right, the new school at Hayden Lake could open in the fall of 2020.

Olson also gave an update on the Construction Manager/General Contractor request for qualifications. Following a bidding process for the Lakes Magnet Middle School expansion that came in 22 percent over budget, Martin urged adoption of the CM/GC method of construction management to lower costs for that project, and possibly others in the future.

Martin said “It’s a good way to do projects, as long as you’re comfortable with the architects and general contractor.”

Martin said the cost would go up 2 percent from the typical 7 percent charged by general contractors, but “You save that money when you have the architect and general contractor working together.” Eubanks said the idea behind the method is “to be super-focused on efficiency.” Martin told May that he expects the Lakes project can be done within budgetary limits, and without modifying the scope of the work. Olson asked the board to review the request for qualifications and to send questions and comments to himself and Martin. He planned on going over any concerns on Monday and posting the RFQ next week. Board action takes place in the final selection of the general contractor, Olson explained.