Kristie McElfresh, a Macready Avenue resident that lives near the former high school, helped to organize the meeting.
“We wanted to have our voices heard because we felt that we were not being heard,” she said. “Citizens are questioning the (proposed) transfer. We believe the land is public and should stay public.”
“I’m concerned what happens there because it affects property values,” she said.
Residents posed a number of questions that sought answers on why the building wasn’t razed after the new junior high/high school complex was completed as well as asking why the discussions concerning the transaction were not made public or held in public meetings.
George Long, business manager for the Monroe and Middletown school districts, said the district held an auction for the building in 2011 and received one bid of $50,000 from the church. That bid was rejected which allowed the board, under state law, to negotiate for the property.
He said church presented a formal proposal and those discussions/negotiations have been ongoing for the past three to four years, Long said. In addition, the church has offered portions of the building after renovations to the community for 10 years such as swing space for classrooms during future construction in the district.
Brett Guido, the only school board member to attend the meeting, said he was not representing the board and thought the meeting was a presentation and did not expect to answer questions. He told the residents that the board is still negotiating with the church and has not made any decisions to sell the building.
Guido said the sale would relieve the taxpayers of the building and its potential liabilities.
“We’re trying to juggle a lot of balls,” he said.
Five city council members were at the meeting. City Councilman Steve Black said the city sent a formal proposal late Monday afternoon to acquire the building and demolish the building through city funds and various state grants.
“What will people say about the city years from now if we give this away?” Black asked.
The board met with the city to see if they were interested in taking the building in 2011, however the economic conditions did not allow for this option. City officials said they were not interested which allowed the board to put it up for auction. In 2012 the city considered using a federal block grant for the project, but the grant had expired and the funds had to be returned to its source. Black said in the past years, the city was not in a position to take on a project of this magnitude.
Guido said the board sought to put the site in the commercial real estate market, but those companies were also not interested.
He said the proposal is close to a vote and added that he’s ready to vote. The church is seeking a decision in the next 30 days so that it can weatherproof the building for cold weather and address some water intrusion issues.
As for the concern on the church’s resources to renovate parts of the building, Guido said he’s confident they can do it.
After the meeting, resident Lisa Cho, a 1984 graduate of the Lemon-Monroe High School said, “We have to do something now. Knocking it down gives us time as a community to develop it as we see fit.”
“I think this is healthy,” Black said after the meeting. “It’s promising to see people come together on three days’ notice. It shows that the citizens are concerned because it’s part of the city.”
Guido said he likes a lot of what he’s seen so far in the proposed sales document but it is not completed yet.
McElfresh said she was pleased with the turnout. “It brought people out to ask questions and voice concerns in a public forum,” she said.
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