ELY – A Twin Cities architect working with the Ely Regional Community Complex board assured a sub-committee this week that any future educational expansion needs on the ISD 696 campus would not be impeded by the construction of a recreational complex on the southwest corner of school property.

A working group of ERCC and Ely School Board members have been hashing out questions and concerns for the past several weeks in order to make a more informed decision about locating the private recreational facility adjacent to the school.

Such a facility would put a gymnasium, swimming pool and other recreational activity opportunities just steps away from school classrooms.

The ERCC board has determined that their facility could best serve the community if located in the central location of the school campus. Two other sites, the former city garage, and Morse Township property behind the hospital, may also be considered if the school option does not pan out.

A conference telephone conversation was held with Mohammed Lawal, principal architect of LSE Architects, Minneapolis, who has been working with the ERCC board to sketch out various location scenarios for the facility on the school campus. The firm has a 49-year history in the Twin Cities and does a variety of K-12 school and public educational building designs and renovations. Lawal said his firm specializes in “tight urban sites and older historic places.”

Lawal said he did an independent study of the Ely school campus and considered future expansion, whether or not the ERCC was even built on the property.

The courtyard property located between the Washington, Memorial, and Industrial Arts buildings could contain a building with a footprint of about 30,000 square feet, according to Lawal.

“Normally, I would look at that and add two more floors for a total of 90,000 square feet, but that is not realistic in K-12 education,” he said, “because there would be open space for a gym, cafeteria, commons, media space, or something that needs a higher ceiling space.”

He said that center space between the buildings could accommodate an expansion project of about 65,000 to 70,000 square feet on three levels. He described many scenarios, including a main entrance for both buildings, shared cafeteria and commons, a library, and as many as 30 classrooms.

He also looked at the parking lot on the east side of the Memorial High School building and described a 22,000–square-foot building footprint for future expansion projects.

“With some 600 children in K-12 there now, let’s look at a 20- or 30-percent growth in your student population in the next five or 10 years and add 200 to 250 children,” Lawal said.

Minnesota Department of Education standards call for 120- to 150-square feet per elementary student, 140- to 190-sqaure feet for middle school students, and 175- to 240-square feet per high school student.

“With an average of 200-square-feet per student, or even 250-square-feet per student, and no open existing classrooms, that would mean you would need to add somewhere around 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of space to accommodate that 30-percent growth,” he said.

“That growth could be accommodated in the space between Washington and Memorial schools, even if you were building a regional community complex on the west side of the ice arena,” he said.

Is school property an option?

School Superintendent Kevin Abrahamson reported on his research into whether or not a school district can sell, lease or donate property for such a use to a private entity.

He referenced State of Minnesota statutes. “Probably the most important section, talks more about a lease than a sale,” he said. “I can’t find anything that prohibits a district from selling or leasing.”

He noted that a subdivision allows for leasing property “if a school board determines that leasing part of the property does not interfere with the educational programs taking place.” This also pertains to a sale of school property.

“Because the school currently has a $2.8 million bond, any proceeds from a lease or sale would need to go toward that debt service, and not the general fund or anywhere else,” he said. He noted that the statute also covers land exchange provisions.

Abrahamson sought an opinion from the school district’s attorney. “Gifting school property to the ERCC board does not appear to be imprudent,” according to Kelly Klun. “The statute specifically discusses proceeds from a sale or transfer of a property. Generally, a government entity needs to ensure that it is receiving fair market value in a sale.”

The Ely School Board will continue their discussion of the issue at their monthly study session on Monday, Aug. 28.