BUTLER TWP — The future of the playground at Meridian Elementary School and a possible solution to chronic flooding at a fire station captured much of the discussion Wednesday night at a meeting on the sale of the school.

One of the two bidders for the closed school explained his revised plans for the building.

Butler School Board hosted the meeting at the school to allow the bidders to present their plans for the building and to let residents voice concerns.

The Meridian school was closed as part of the district's consolidation last year, along with three other elementary schools: Broad Street, Clearfield and Oakland.

2 proposals aired

Brent Thomas and Ken McDonald have bid $350,000 for the school, and Michael Wright, owner of family-owned 70E Solutions, bid $425,000. The average appraised value of the school is $530,000.

Thomas said his and McDonald's original plan was to convert the school into a senior-living home and that they envisioned a 42-unit, studio apartment arrangement. Rooms such as the gym, the library and the cafeteria could be used as common areas, he said.

“Our thought was that the building lent itself really well to that use,” Thomas said.

“The feasibility study wasn't quite as positive as we would've hoped,” he said, stressing the need for a residential senior-living facility may not be too great in that immediate area.

Thomas and McDonald are looking into creating a memory care or dementia-related treatment facility since that area of senior care may be underserved, according to Thomas.

“We just want to be a good neighbor, and we think we'd be a good fit for the community,” he said.

Wright hopes to use the school for his growing, family-owned business, 70E Solutions, an electrical testing company. The company, which is 15 years old and has 10 employees, has had more than 150 percent growth in the past year, Wright said.

“This property actually works out perfectly for us,” Wright said. “We think we'd be a really good, quiet neighbor.”

Since maintaining the playground at Broad Street Elementary School was a major issue previously, both Thomas and Wright said they would keep the playground open to the public.

Wright added that while he is not going to invest significant funds in the playground, he will look into getting new chains and paint, since the safety of that playground would only be a liability for him should he acquire the building.

Some residents seemed concerned about the tendency for older juveniles and young adults to frequent the playground late at night, citing multiple calls to Butler Township's police department. Wright stressed that he would also look into cameras and gates for that area, including posting hours of the playground from dawn until dusk.

Fire station issue

Another issue was the flooding of the school's run-off onto the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District 3's property, according to fire department President Bob Cordray. Cordray said when there have been significant storms in the past year, there has been flooding near the side door of the station.

The previous school board had been working with the fire department to deed it 25 feet, which had been discussed in October 2015, according to board President Nina Teff.

Wright and Thomas both said they would be willing to work with the fire department, but Wright stressed that township officials would need to be involved in that deal.

Tom Breth, district solicitor, said the district can look into creating a meeting of township officials, potential bidders, fire department staff and school representatives to discuss the issue.

“I don't want to flood the fire department,” Cordray said. “I don't care who fixes the problem and how.”

Cordray hopes to act on any project redirecting run-off by this spring.

Appraisals, future costs

The financial aspects of the school sale was another issue discussed with Wright expressing some concern for the appraisal values for the Meridian. The building had two appraisals, one at $400,000 and another at $660,000.

Wright, who said he studied the appraisals, believed the $660,000 appraisal value was “greatly skewed.” In his opinion, the building is worth about $399,000, but he bid higher as a show of good faith.

“The building is nice and looks nice, but it needs a lot of work,” he said, identifying roof and brick work as two significant costs.

Board member Al Vavro estimated the building would need roughly $4 million in renovation, were it to remain a school building.

Board member Bill Halle questioned if the intended uses for the property would allow it to be taxed.

If Wright's company buys the property, it would go on the tax rolls, but Thomas could not make a similar guarantee for a senior-living facility.

In addition, the two bidders were pressed by board member Leland Clark if their bids were their best offers.

While Thomas gave a response that can be described as a “maybe,” Wright said he didn't believe a community meeting was the right time for him to “show (his) cards.”

Vavro agreed, stressing that negotiations should involve the bidder, the board and possibly the courts.

Another financial issue was the cost of maintaining the closed schools, brought up by taxpayer Dave Bestwick.

The district has spent $12,500 through December 2015 for the Meridian school, according to Superintendent Dale Lumley. The annual cost was estimated around $55,000 for Meridian's utilities, he said.

Bestwick said, “As a taxpayer, I've got to wonder why we're continuing to spend this kind of money every single month and why we're not moving the process a little quicker.”

Decision in March?

For Clark, the sale of the buildings is important, but he also wants to guarantee the district won't have to construct a new building in the future, likely at a higher taxpayer cost. Clark added he hopes to see decisions about the sale of buildings made in early March.

No board action on the sales of the buildings will take place until after the After-Action Review Committee issues its final report, according to board member Suzie Bradrick.

Once the board makes a decision, the district solicitor will have to file a petition for the sale with Butler County Court, according to Breth.

Then a public hearing will be held, likely before Judge S. Michael Yeager, at which time the decision is out of the hands of the school board, said board member Neil Convery.

Other Meetings

Since a community meeting was already held for the Broad Street building, another one is not scheduled.

The meeting for the Oakland Elementary School will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the school, 545 Chicora Road.

Woodbine Oaks, a realty company owned by Monty Edgar, has bid $363,600 for the building to house his electric business, Edgar Electric, and as a commercial rental office space.

Oakland's average appraisal value is $362,500.

The Clearfield school meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 29, at the school, 719 Clearfield Road.

No bids were made on the building, but township residents are interested in acquiring it for use as a community center.

Clearfield's average appraisal is $236,000.