CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

West Elementary suggested as potential child care facility

The Daily Globe - 7/17/2022

Jul. 15—WORTHINGTON — Three different groups are interested in using the old West Elementary, still owned by District 518 and currently being used to house the school's administration department while the district offices are renovated.

The plan was to demolish the building, but given the interest in turning the place into a community or child care center, the District 518 Board of Education will discuss the matter at its next meeting, which begins at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.

"Right now it's planned for demo. That was part of the bond levy," Superintendent John Landgaard said during a Friday meeting of representatives of the city of Worthington, Nobles County, District 518 and Minnesota West Community & Technical College. "That bond levy cannot go to other things than demolition or construction."

That means the school could use the funds on the community education building currently under construction or, as previously planned, to demolish West, Landgaard added.

He said the school board would decide whether to entertain any proposals about the building at all, and if they should decide to do so, most likely there would be a deadline for such proposals, perhaps as soon as November.

"I'll be very blunt. Where I'm at — unless it's a very viable plan that does not in the future put it back to the county and become a community problem again — there's no way I'll make a recommendation to do anything but demolish it," Landgaard said.

Since it was built in 1956 on dredge fill, some portions of the West building have settled, causing structural problems. Given the passage of time, standards for elementary schools in particular, and public buildings in general, have also changed.

School board chairwoman Lori Dudley asked if those interested in using the building intended to use all of it, or just the portions that are structurally sound, such as the gym and the media center; Landgaard answered that the different groups had different ideas about what to use.

City Council Member Alaina Kolpin said a facilities assessment was recently completed on West Elementary

Mayor Mike Kuhle added that on May 26, a group of engineers visited West Elementary and Ridgewood to assess the possibility of using them for child care facilities. In that assessment, the north portion of West could be used for child care for up to 114 children, and the south side could potentially become a community center or something else. Ridgewood, by contrast, would be a better location for a pod model, which could provide child care for 40 to 50 children in two pods. If it were used as a full child care center, it could provide care for 70 children.

Landgaard said he wasn't sure if the engineers had accounted for all the updates and changes that would need to be made to West in order to use it as a child care facility, and that he was very concerned they had underestimated the cost.

"They are looking at another option to be able to show us what a new building would look like. I personally think this location would be fantastic for this," Kolpin said, whether it meant building new or using West.

Kuhle said even a pole building could be used as a child care facility, but Landgaard warned that the building would still need a sprinkler system and other functionalities.

Kolpin asked if those who wanted to pursue West as an option should attend the school board meeting on Tuesday, and Landgaard said no, because the school board needs to first decide whether it will entertain proposals or not.

"I would strongly urge that they at least entertain a proposal. I think it's a valid... interest," Kuhle said.

Dudley said she didn't feel there's a viable plan as yet for how a community center might function within the West building. She also said if the board did accept proposals regarding West, it would likely require a very fast turnaround, potentially even as little as a month.

"Because of the possibilities that this building does offer, I know that it makes me very interested in looking at it further," Kolpin said, adding that she hoped the board would take into consideration "just how good this can be for the community now is looking forward and not looking back at all the issues that have surrounded the building..."

In other news Friday, the group:

* Discussed the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District's project to build a pond on District 518 land near the Intermediate School, which will likely be discussed by the school board at its next meeting.

* Learned that fall enrollment at Minnesota West is predicted to be down by about 2%, because students are less interested in health-related careers, law enforcement and education — three areas also seeing increasing workforce shortages.

* Talked about the Oxford Street-Crailsheim Road intersection. The Minnesota Department of Transportation will do a traffic study on the area next week to determine whether speed limits should change, with the increase in student traffic when school starts in mind.

___

(c)2022 The Daily Globe (Worthington, Minn.)

Visit The Daily Globe (Worthington, Minn.) at www.dglobe.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.