BROOKINGS The Brookings School Board began discussions about possibly demolishing the Fifth Street Gym during their meeting Tuesday night.
Last month the board voted to declare the gym surplus property and authorized an appraisal of the facility.
After the appraiser went in, the level of appraisal that we would need to gain the information that we would need on the building became really, really extensive and it was in probably worse shape than we originally realized, board member Keli Books, who also serves on the schools facilities committee, said. Our facilities committee has recommended that we do work with Intek for an air quality study and then also have (director of business affairs Stacy VanBeek) checking into demolition cost.
According to an Aug. 7 story in the Brookings Register, the city Park & Recreation Board discussed possibly buying the gym and estimated doing so would cost at least $2.6 million in improvements plus somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000 in annual operating costs.
I walked around the building, and a number of bricks have problems so its clear the exterior is in really tough shape, board member Wes Tschetter said. You dont see that when you walk around any other building.
The district built the gym at a time when space was at a premium at the old middle school.
We spent a little under $925,000, and so have operated and used that building for 37 years. So really did get a great use out of that building, Books said. We broke it down to an annual $27,000 a year that we spent to utilize that building. So it was a good use of facility dollars for the term of time.
The board plans to wait for the results of the air quality study before making a final decision. Theyll also work with organizations currently using the gym for recreational activities to keep those groups informed about the facilitys fate.
I think its important to reiterate that with the two new schools and the two new competitive gyms, what we used to need the Fifth Street Gym for for our students is very limited if not even in existence now, Teresa Binkley, school board president, said. It is a facility that the district does not really need.
In other facilities business, the board approved hiring Johnson Controls to start work on replacing the high schools boiler system. According to documents submitted by Johnson Controls, the total base bid price is $4,132,000.
That original estimate was pretty right on with the actual boiler itself, Summer Schultz, Brookings school superintendent, said. Its a large project. In fact, we know Johnson Controls is big as they are, but when they did the walk-through with all the different contractors the commons area at the high school was full. Its a large project. This is not a small undertaking. So now once we get this infrastructure in place, when something goes down its a minimal change out. We just have to get the infrastructure up to date.
The proposal calls for replacing the schools two low-pressure steam boilers with three natural gas boilers and an array of pumps and ancillary equipment. Johnson Controls estimates that installation work could begin May 1, 2025, with substantial installation complete by Oct. 15, 2025. A separate estimate involves possible replacement of the electrical switchboard controlling the system.
Its from the original 1965 (building). And the thing we have to remember is many of the air handlers are going to need to be swapped out soon. None of that is included in here. They really needed to keep that scope of that project to the original, Schultz said. As we develop our capital budget for five years out, those air handlers will need to go. And then the working motherboard so to say of that electric piece is of that same time category.
She said, in the meantime, the heat in the high school has been successfully turned on.
People wanted to say, oh the boilers not working because it was cold! But its like that time of year in fall, where its hard to know when to turn the boilers on or not on, Schultz said. But I believe it started up at the least the one not finicky one so we have to get through this winter, and then well be in place for next year.
Email Jay Roe at [email protected].
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