The Pembina Hills school division will hold two public meetings on Wednesday, July 16, for community groups to voice their interest in acquiring the Jarvie and W.R. Frose School properties.
The procession of disposition for both Jarvie and W.R. Frose was discussed during the Pembina Hills board meeting last Wednesday in Barrhead.
Both Jarvie and W.R. Frose School will be largely vacated for the coming school year as the students are moved over to the new Pembina North Community School.
Assistant Supt. of employee services and facilities and transportation Wendy Scinski acknowledged that the No. 1 priority of the division up to now was securing adequate learning space for the new K-9 school at Dapp.
She noted the six modular classrooms have been completed and are ready for transportation to Dapp. Also, they recently held their first site meeting on June 17 with the consultant and contractor.
“The target date is September of 2014 to have the six modulars ready and in place ... with modernization to follow,” she said.
Scinski said the two public libraries housed at each school have been granted access until Dec. 31 of this year.
As per the School Act, vacant school properties owned by the division can be transferred for less than fair market value if it’s transferred to another school board, a municipality, a community association or non-profit organization.
Scinski indicated there are two possible scenarios for the future of Jarvie and W.R. Frose School. In the first scenario, a community group acquires the property, which would require ministerial approval.
It would be Pembina Hills’ responsibility to ensure the grounds were clean, said Scinski. They would then transfer utilities and delete any access cards for the building.
In the second scenario, no community groups step forward to take over Jarvie and/or W.R. Frose School. If that is the case, the board would have to determine some possible uses, said Scinksi, adding that the division could potentially bring in a realtor to sell the buildings privately.
Assuming there are no other options and no one has demonstrated any interest in either building, the division would then have to determine the cost of demolition and conduct an asbestos assessment and remediation. Ministerial approval would also be required for demolition.
Trustee Jackie Comeau asked whether asbestos tests had been conducted earlier, and director of facilities and transportation Tracy Tyreman indicated that wasn’t the case, as the test is “quite expensive.” A mold assessment may have been done, however.
Scinski said administration’s recommended strategy for the disposition of both buildings was to hold two public meetings on the evening of July 16, at Jarvie and W.R. Frose School respectively.
The purpose of both meetings will be to “establish an interest” from a community group to acquire the buildings, said Scinski, noting there will be a tour of each building and administration will answer any questions about the potential take-over. An information package will be developed to be handed out.
Notice of the meetings would be advertised on the Pembina Hills website and in the local media, and invitations would be sent to various community groups, she said.
Administration initially recommended setting a deadline of Aug. 10 for groups to indicate their interest in the buildings, but trustees decided against that idea.
Trustee Jennifer Tuininga said her one concern with the recommended disposition process was that summer is less than a week away, adding that she didn’t want people to say Pembina Hills was rushing the process as people were heading on vacation.
Trustee Judy Lefebvre suggested that was an “excuse” because many residents are aware of the two buildings’ closure.
However, trustee Annette Bokenfohr voiced similar concerns, wondering why there needed to be such a rush for community groups to take over the buildings.
Supt. Colleen Symyrozum-Watt responded that they had sensed some “urgency” around this issue, noting that administration viewed this as the “beginning” of the disposition process.
Comeau said people are asking about these buildings and Pembina Hills did need to respond with some sort of plan, but the Aug. 10 deadline “might be too short.”
The board agreed the best course of action would be to ask those community groups who attend the July 16 meetings about what kind of timeframe they would need to indicate an interest in either building.
Trustee Sheri Watson said they could always put a firm deadline on offers to take over the buildings at that time.
Ultimately, the board passed a motion to begin the process of disposition by holding two public meetings on July 16 for community groups to attend.
No start times were decided at the board meeting, though those will be advertised later.
