District begins negotiations for school site
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
With a vote on a school referendum coming in a couple of weeks, Ball-Chatham School District
officials are working daily to secure a site for the proposed new elementary school.
And while a site doesn't necessarily have to be pinned down by the time of the public vote, district
officials believe it will aid their cause by doing so.
Following a closed session at Monday's school board meeting, Supt. Bob Gillum stated that district
officials have been authorized to begin negotiations by offering to purchase a parcel of ground within
district boundaries.
It is possible that the district will have something to announce by this Monday's (March 23) school
board meeting, Gillum added.
The board has also commission former board member and Springfield attorney Kurt Wilke to
handle negotiations and the necessary paperwork, while working with Gillum and board member
Rick Carr, who has spearheaded the efforts to find a school location.
Gillum continued that if negotiations for this property do not work out, the district has two other
viable options - one being another land purchase and the other building a school at the district's
property off Southwind Road in Springfield.
To that end, Gillum said the district has found out more information about that land, which actually
sits between Second Street and the I-55 frontage road in Springfield. Access to the land would be off
Southwind, a narrow two-lane road.
The land sits near a subdivision in the area, and there are three 40 acre parcels of ground between
Second Street and the I-55 frontage road, and the Ball-Chatham property is the middle parcel.
For years most have referred to the land as the "Second Street property," but in reality the land sits
east of Second Street and off Southwind.
There are some major cost factors involved with putting a school at the Southwind property, the
biggest being water and sewer concerns.
"The real issue is getting water and sewer to that property," Gillum explained. "Other developers
have backed away in that area due to those concerns."
When the district purchased the property back in the mid 1990s, it was assumed the area would be
more developed than it is now, a feeling confirmed by board member Jim Neuses at Monday's
meeting. Utility costs have contributed to groups having to abandon plans for development, he added.
Engineers have determined that the property would need to be raised by four feet, or a lift station
would have to be installed. That cost could run close to $250,000, and the Springfield Sanitary District
has issued a moratorium on new lift stations, presenting another hurdle.
Also, road improvements, stoplights and other infrastructure would be needed, adding $200,000 or
more to the cost.
Still, Gillum said, "We have a fallback position. It has not been eliminated as an option."
"There were a lot of unknowns to us when we started this process," Gillum added. "We continue to
learn new information each week."
Board President Patrick Hansen said he has talked to citizens about the new school issue, with
many wondering why the district wouldn't build on property it already owns.
"We had no idea we would run into these types of variables," Gillum continued.
Hansen said many have inquired about land the district owns at Glenwood High School, and
Gillum said only approximately 10 acres are available for a new school.
Gillum did say that he had a very positive meeting recently with Village of Chatham officials, should
the new school be built within village boundaries. The Village has offered to work with the School
District on some infrastructure costs, he added.
Land acquisition costs are not included in the estimated $12.3 million price tag for the 500-seat
elementary school and related furnishings.
"Our land acquisition team has been in almost daily contact with each other," Gillum explained.
"We are down to three options - two plots and our property at Southwind. Neither of those plots is what
I would describe as a bargain or value purchase."
•For review, voters will be going to the polls on April 7, voting yes or no to allow the district to build a
500-student elementary school using district reserves, with the estimated cost at $12.3 million. There
would be no property tax increase.
The structure would be 65,000 square feet and would be built with the ability for expansion to
accommodate 750 students. It will take approximately 18 months to two years to build from the day
ground is broken.
The facility would house K-4 students, thereby dictacting a restructuring of the district's K-8
buildings. Ball Elementary and Chatham Elementary would also become K-4 centers, with the
boundary lines to be determined, and depending mostly on the location of the new school.
Glenwood Intermediate School would become a grades 5-6 facility, and Glenwood Middle School
would be a grades 7-8 facility.
If the voters approve the referendum, the earliest that the new facility would be utilized would be the
start of the school year in fall 2011, more than likely. Gillum said the structure could be completed
before then, but since all K-8 students would be affected by the school's opening, reorganization
would have to occur at the beginning of a school year and not in the middle of it.
•The 'Building For Their Future' referendum committee has continued its hard work. Team leader
Linda Carter and her group are continuing to get their message out, talking to various local groups
and educating people on the referendum.
Signs are going up across the district, brochures are going out and there are door-to-door
campaigns as well. Carter confirmed that local realtor Cindi Kruse has offered the group use of her
large billboard sign, located on Route 4 as you come into Chatham from the north.
For more information on what the group is doing, visit their website at www.building fortheirfuture.
webs.com.
•The board's next meeting will be Monday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. This will be the annual personnel
meeting, but regular items will be included on the agenda. The board is expected to view a rendering
of what the proposed new elementary school will look like, in a watercolor design.
Officials from Ittner Architecture have met with school officials and staff to determine the look the
facility would have. Once a site is formally determined and voter approval given, more exact details
and plans can be ironed out.
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
With a vote on a school referendum coming in a couple of weeks, Ball-Chatham School District
officials are working daily to secure a site for the proposed new elementary school.
And while a site doesn't necessarily have to be pinned down by the time of the public vote, district
officials believe it will aid their cause by doing so.
Following a closed session at Monday's school board meeting, Supt. Bob Gillum stated that district
officials have been authorized to begin negotiations by offering to purchase a parcel of ground within
district boundaries.
It is possible that the district will have something to announce by this Monday's (March 23) school
board meeting, Gillum added.
The board has also commission former board member and Springfield attorney Kurt Wilke to
handle negotiations and the necessary paperwork, while working with Gillum and board member
Rick Carr, who has spearheaded the efforts to find a school location.
Gillum continued that if negotiations for this property do not work out, the district has two other
viable options - one being another land purchase and the other building a school at the district's
property off Southwind Road in Springfield.
To that end, Gillum said the district has found out more information about that land, which actually
sits between Second Street and the I-55 frontage road in Springfield. Access to the land would be off
Southwind, a narrow two-lane road.
The land sits near a subdivision in the area, and there are three 40 acre parcels of ground between
Second Street and the I-55 frontage road, and the Ball-Chatham property is the middle parcel.
For years most have referred to the land as the "Second Street property," but in reality the land sits
east of Second Street and off Southwind.
There are some major cost factors involved with putting a school at the Southwind property, the
biggest being water and sewer concerns.
"The real issue is getting water and sewer to that property," Gillum explained. "Other developers
have backed away in that area due to those concerns."
When the district purchased the property back in the mid 1990s, it was assumed the area would be
more developed than it is now, a feeling confirmed by board member Jim Neuses at Monday's
meeting. Utility costs have contributed to groups having to abandon plans for development, he added.
Engineers have determined that the property would need to be raised by four feet, or a lift station
would have to be installed. That cost could run close to $250,000, and the Springfield Sanitary District
has issued a moratorium on new lift stations, presenting another hurdle.
Also, road improvements, stoplights and other infrastructure would be needed, adding $200,000 or
more to the cost.
Still, Gillum said, "We have a fallback position. It has not been eliminated as an option."
"There were a lot of unknowns to us when we started this process," Gillum added. "We continue to
learn new information each week."
Board President Patrick Hansen said he has talked to citizens about the new school issue, with
many wondering why the district wouldn't build on property it already owns.
"We had no idea we would run into these types of variables," Gillum continued.
Hansen said many have inquired about land the district owns at Glenwood High School, and
Gillum said only approximately 10 acres are available for a new school.
Gillum did say that he had a very positive meeting recently with Village of Chatham officials, should
the new school be built within village boundaries. The Village has offered to work with the School
District on some infrastructure costs, he added.
Land acquisition costs are not included in the estimated $12.3 million price tag for the 500-seat
elementary school and related furnishings.
"Our land acquisition team has been in almost daily contact with each other," Gillum explained.
"We are down to three options - two plots and our property at Southwind. Neither of those plots is what
I would describe as a bargain or value purchase."
•For review, voters will be going to the polls on April 7, voting yes or no to allow the district to build a
500-student elementary school using district reserves, with the estimated cost at $12.3 million. There
would be no property tax increase.
The structure would be 65,000 square feet and would be built with the ability for expansion to
accommodate 750 students. It will take approximately 18 months to two years to build from the day
ground is broken.
The facility would house K-4 students, thereby dictacting a restructuring of the district's K-8
buildings. Ball Elementary and Chatham Elementary would also become K-4 centers, with the
boundary lines to be determined, and depending mostly on the location of the new school.
Glenwood Intermediate School would become a grades 5-6 facility, and Glenwood Middle School
would be a grades 7-8 facility.
If the voters approve the referendum, the earliest that the new facility would be utilized would be the
start of the school year in fall 2011, more than likely. Gillum said the structure could be completed
before then, but since all K-8 students would be affected by the school's opening, reorganization
would have to occur at the beginning of a school year and not in the middle of it.
•The 'Building For Their Future' referendum committee has continued its hard work. Team leader
Linda Carter and her group are continuing to get their message out, talking to various local groups
and educating people on the referendum.
Signs are going up across the district, brochures are going out and there are door-to-door
campaigns as well. Carter confirmed that local realtor Cindi Kruse has offered the group use of her
large billboard sign, located on Route 4 as you come into Chatham from the north.
For more information on what the group is doing, visit their website at www.building fortheirfuture.
webs.com.
•The board's next meeting will be Monday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. This will be the annual personnel
meeting, but regular items will be included on the agenda. The board is expected to view a rendering
of what the proposed new elementary school will look like, in a watercolor design.
Officials from Ittner Architecture have met with school officials and staff to determine the look the
facility would have. Once a site is formally determined and voter approval given, more exact details
and plans can be ironed out.
Chatham Clarion
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Issue Date: March 19, 2009