A proposed wellness/recreational center

The main event at the City Council meeting on Monday evening was a presentation by RCSC Superintendent Ned Speicher of a proposed wellness center. It would be a building with 25,000 square feet located at the east end of the high school. The rendering below shows how it would be located.  (Forgive the poor quality of the pictures. They are photos of what was projected onto a screen during the meeting.) Some of the white roofs are recent replacements. The section with the white roof that is nearest the parking lot is the proposed building. The space is presently lawn.

The building would be a steel building. Facing it with bricks would add another $500,000 to the cost.

As for cost, the estimated cost is $4,800,000. It would be funded by $1.8 million in cash taken from various accounts and $3 million in debt. The debt would not be a new issue but would result from refinancing the 2007 debt issue. There would be no need for an increase in taxes or tax rates. The total amount of debt that the school corporation would owe would be $32 million. The school sees no need for additional buildings or major capital projects in the foreseeable future so this debt should be manageable.

The building itself will be a big empty space. The presentation had pictures of similar buildings at North Montgomery and Wheeler. Both of them reminded me of the Recreation Center at Saint Joseph's College. I am not sure how big that building is, but the proposed building looked about as long but perhaps a bit narrower. Below is a photo of the slide showing the floor plan.

The floor would not be wood but a hard surface. It would be used by athletic teams and the marching band for practice and also be open to the public. At present many people get exercise by walking the halls and they could instead walk the track that would be around the outside of the building. Curtains could isolate various areas so a basketball practice could be taking place alongside a softball practice. The area would connect up to the swimming pool, and the proposed building could make the swimming pool more available to public use.

If a project costs less than $2 million, all that is needed is School Board approval. If it will cost more than $10 million, a referendum is required for approval. This project falls in in the area that has a potentially complicated route for approval. As I understood the process, after School Board approval, those who object to the project can oppose the decision by gathering 100 signatures. That sets into motion a campaign of competing petitions, those for and those against, with the side with the most signatures of registered voters living in the school district winning. If the project gets the go-ahead and there is no opposition, the building could be completed in the fall of 2016.

The next step in the process will be a public hearing at the next school board meeting on February 16 at 7:00. The meeting is scheduled for the Board Room at the west end of the Van Rensselaer School. If you are interested in this project and want to learn more or if you want to voice support or opposition to it, you should attend this meeting. (And it will not conflict with the County Council meeting this month because the Council meeting is on the 23rd. However, the Jasper County Historical Society meeting will conflict. It is scheduled for the 16th at 6:30. The agenda for the evening is to construct a timeline of key events, places, and people to Jasper County's History since the 1950's.)

The presentation argued that this center would improve quality of life for Rensselaer residents. Mr Speicher noted that RCSC students received brochures from three area school corporations enticing them to change schools. He also noted that Rensselaer has had a shrinking middle class and that the number of students eligible for free or reduced school lunches keeps increasing. Rensselaer needs to be competitive with other areas in amenities in order to attract residents.

Again, if you are interested in learning more, go to the meeting on February 16. (The other items of interest at the City Council meeting will be in another post.)

Finally, for those of you who like everything presented in map form, here is a final picture of the proposed building and the rest of the high school.