Welton school may come down

By Mary Lou Hinrichsen
Herald Staff Writer

November 16, 2005 12:56 pm

— WELTON — Six months ago the town of Welton was abuzz with talk of possible uses for the local school building being retired by the Central Community School District.
The Welton City Council at a special meeting Tuesday night voted to purchase the property for $1 only if the school district would demolish the entire building.
An earlier tentative agreement would have had the school district demolish only the original part of the school, leaving the gymnasium; building a wall to replace the one connecting the two structures; removing the boiler and asbestos in the boiler room; filling a hole left after the removal of a modular classroom; and having the property surveyed.
Along the way, an area contractor had expressed an interest in converting the school into commercial uses.
But Tuesday night, councilman Billy Koranda said he had made numerous calls to that individual without any response.
“It looks like he’s out of the picture,” said the council’s attorney, Mark Lawson.
Lawson then reviewed the school board’s apparent acceptance of the tentative agreement, but added that the board wanted to close on the deal by Dec. 15. He questioned whether the survey could be done by that time.
Also, he said, “What strikes me is, apparently there is no plan (by the council) what to do with (the property.) The building as it stands may be a liability.
“If you make it into a community center, you just want to be very careful about it. It could turn into something that’s still sitting there five or six years later — an eyesore, yet you don’t have the money to tear it down.”
The attorney then asked the council members whether they would be interested in accepting the bare ground if the entire school was demolished.
Again, the members hesitated.
“There are a lot of good ideas, things that maybe could be done with the property,” said councilman Glen Boswell, “But we have to be practical.
“I don’t feel we have everybody on board with us with the water system and then if we taken on a property and have to raise taxes to maintain it, I think we open up a whole other can of worms that might be difficult to deal with.”
“There are towns around here that took school buildings and now they wish they had never taken them because they can’t afford to maintain them,” Koranda said. “If I felt I had the town backing me up 100 percent, wanting to do something with it, I’d feel a lot better. But I don’t feel there’s the support out there in the community.”
Boswell expressed the hope the school district would not do something with the property that would be detrimental to Welton, but he also noted the town doesn’t have many ordinances that would control what went on the property.
Lawson agreed.
“Other than a public nuisance, there’s not a lot you can do. A lot of things could be objectionable but not be a public nuisance,” he said.
Councilman Ed Novak said he would like to see the property used as a ball field after the building is demolished.

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