The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Residents of the Naselle/Grays River Valley School District are voting on a proposed $8.1 million building bond to upgrade the building housing the district’s band room, vocational shops, weight room and grandstand.

Rick Pass, superintendent of Naselle-Grays River Valley School District, met with residents last Wednesday in the last of four community meetings to present the plans for the remodel of the 1957 building. Also on hand were school board Directors Ed Darcher and Bob Torppa and architects Tom Bates and John Wegener.

The group said that a desire to continue to make improvements to the school campus and compete with other educational districts as well as the knowledge that the 1993 bond would be paid off in short order prompted the formation of a committee two years ago to discuss potential changes around campus and the possibility of a replacement bond.

The school board voted unanimously to approve this bond for the upcoming ballot.

The board would like to use the $8.1 million bond to renovate and improve the 1957 building, “re-using all the existing structure,” according to the architects. Plans call for added classrooms, updates to the vocational technical area and band rooms, enlargement of the weight room and addition of a locker room and gym. They also want to improve the grandstand area to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, improve the sight line of the bleacher seats, and create a lobby with indoor restrooms and concessions.

First on the agenda is a second gym. During inclement weather, the elementary students are frequently inside during recess. They do not always have access to the gym and must gather in their classrooms or the library. Third and fourth grade students must share the gym with high school students for PE. The entire grade school is only meeting minimum standards in PE requirements as they must alternate class days to accommodate everyone. After ninth grade, high school students are limited to taking weight training for a PE elective. Because of the size of the weight room, the class is limited to 18 students, thus many students are turned away.

After hours is equally trying as high school and middle school students are vying for time and room to practice. During basketball season, middle school students are taken to Rosburg to play in a non-regulation size gym, and must rely upon Wahkiakum on the Move to return to Naselle. The high school teams make the most of odd hours, coming in before school, or staying later in the evening. In the spring when the weather is bad and everyone moves inside, the baseball, softball and track teams find themselves sharing the space.

Because of the age of the existing building, code that was fine in 1957 is no longer considered safe or acceptable. There are concerns for the safety of students in the event of a fire or an earthquake. Wiring and the system for air circulation are outdated in the vocational classrooms. The risers in the band room are problematic, and the classroom lacks windows. There aren’t enough fire exits.

The vocational classes are in need of an update to keep up with technological advances. The bond will allow for a computer classroom alongside the new shop, and finish room to create the new Career and Technical Education department and give students a leg up in using technology to solve problems while doing hands on work in the lab.

The weight room at 16’x30’, is currently too small to safely accommodate the students’ needs. There is little room to move, making it difficult to spot during lifts and often, the class will overflow to the tape room or the phone room to train. The proposed weight room will double its size to 30’x70’.

There will be some loss of parking, which they are working to remedy. Storage continues to be an issue.

This remodel will not only improve facilities for the students, but for the community as well, the group said. The gym and the weight room will be available for community use.

Directors and administrators believe that now is a good time to act because:

--The 1993 bond was paid off in December. In 1993, the assessment was $2.73 per $1,000 of assessed property value; in 2012, the assessment was $1.57 per $1,000.

--School construction support from a state timber fund is a big benefit and is only available if the school has a bond. Therefore, paying off the bond has made the district ineligible to collect the funds. The district has been averaging $27,360 a year for 16 years in timber revenue and has been using that money to replace ceiling tiles, put in a new gym floor, repair the roof, replace boilers, put down asphalt, and add the green bus building, etc. The district would like to continue to make the most of this resource. Also, interest rates are at all time lows, and, according to the architects, construction costs are down 20 percent from five years ago.

--The district has received a grant in the amount of $768,035 which will be used to install a ground source heat pump, replacing propane and saving them an estimated $25,000 every year. They are applying for a second grant in the amount of $1 million which they plan to apply towards the bond if received.

--Estimated costs are $2.30 per $1000 assessed value of home, 73 cents higher than the just completed bond. So, if a home is assessed at $100,000, one should expect to pay an extra $73 in taxes. The bond will be collected over a period of 20 years.

When concerns about population growth and fears of job loss from the possible loss of the Naselle Youth Camp surfaced at last week's meeting, Ed Darcher, a member of the school board,replied, “We can’t live in fear of the future for planning for today. I mean, we’ve got to do the best with what we’ve got here and be optimistic about it and get this going.”

Ballots were mailed January 25. Voting takes place on February 12. In order to pass, they need 40 percent of voters in the district to vote and 60 percent of the votes to pass.

If the bond passes, building will commence the summer of 2014 and should be completed by the summer of 2015.