By KYLE ODEGARD
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Saturday, November 17, 2007 12:00 am
After April, the old Alpine school could be for sale to public
The Alpine Community Center must buy its building in the next few months or it could be forced to find a new home.
The organization has until April 1 to negotiate with the Monroe School District to purchase the former Alpine Elementary School building, where it has operated since the school closed in 2003.
After April 1, when the center's lease expires, the facility goes on the open market.
If the district sells to another party, the center could be forced to find a new home for its preschool, community classes, recycling center and special events, such as last weekend's Alpine Holiday Festival. The center is guaranteed to stay in the facility through June, however.
"We're not going to just let it go to anybody and everybody. We would like somebody who's doing something for the community to get it," said Bob Warden, Monroe school board chairman.
"We will negotiate," said Evelyn Lee, secretary of the center's board of directors. "I think that as a board, we are committed to the community center, and we all want to be good stewards of that property."
The Alpine Community Center's presence in the school has kept that building as the heart of the community. However, community center organizers also have considered building a new structure on park land across the street.
A recent market analysis estimated that the value of the old Alpine Elementary School at $325,000. That isn't necessarily the sale price, however, said Christine Manley, a Monroe School District administrative assistant.
Warden said the district heard a purchase offer in executive session and decided to pursue the study after that. The district had given the right of first refusal to the center.
The school district decided in October to list the building as surplus property, a move that took community center officials by surprise, Lee said.
"We were in the process of negotiating a 10-year lease in the spring … Six months sounds like a long time, but in order to make decisions and collaborate with community members, we're working really hard," she added. "It needs to be a really reasoned decision."
District officials announced more than year ago that the district wanted to be rid of the old school. Superintendent Randy Crowson termed the building a "financial burden."
The Monroe School District rents the building to the center for $1 a year, although the center also pays for major maintenance, insurance and utilities.
The Alpine Community Center is at 25114 Alpine Road, northwest of Monroe. For more information, see www.alpine