City council, county schools OK land swap for old OKH Intermediate school

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

The former Old Kentucky Home Intermediate school building at the corner of East Muir and First Street will be swapped by the county schools for city-owned property off Cardinal Drive behind the Nelson County Early Childhood Learning Center. Click to enlarge.

April 24, 2012, 9 p.m. — The City of Bardstown has agreed to a land swap arrangement  involving the former Old Kentucky Home Intermediate School and a tract of city-owned land behind the Nelson County Early Childhood Learning Center on Cardinal Drive.

In exchange for the city-owned 1.8 acre tract of land, the city will receive the 63,439-square-foot school building and the 2.24 acre tract at the corner of East Muir and South First Street on which it sits.

The Nelson County Schools board approved the land swap deal at a 6 p.m. special meeting Tuesday. Superintendent Anthony Orr and some board members attended Tuesday’s city council meeting.

The city and county have been in negotiations regarding the swap for more than a year, Bardstown Mayor Bill Sheckles said during Tuesday night’s council meeting. The council’s vote on the deal was not without some pointed questions and disagreement by member councils.

After explaining the land swap, the mayor told the council he was ready to call for a vote on a measure that give him authorization to sign the contract for the land swap. However, the council was not unified on the deal.

Councilman Fred Hagan said he wanted to revisit the question of why the city needed to acquire the former school property. “We had a lot of discussion about this, but I’m unclear as to why we want it,” Hagan said, referring discussions in closed session some months ago.

Councilman Francis Lydian defended the land swap, saying the city could use the building for recreational use, as well as for  training for the fire and police departments. “I think the building can be utilized and some of it can be rented out,” he said.

Councilman Fred Hagan listens during discussion regarding the proposed land swap. Click to enlarge.

Hagan told Lydian if the city can use the building, then the city should identify its uses before moving to buy it.

Councilman Tommy Reed said there were colleges interested in using space in the building. St. Catharine College has long sought space for a greater presence in Bardstown. Reed said the city needed larger recreational facilities.

“I’m not sure we should be in the business of renting out property to St. Catharine College or whoever wants it,” Hagan said. “I don’t think the city should be in that business.”

Hagan said the old school building could be “an albatross,” citing the buildings 1960s electrical equipment, the unknown conditions of the buildings’ boilers, the 55-year-old roof, and an underground storage tank that the contract says the city must fill with sand.

Hagan also noted the contract states the city can’t do anything with the property that will generate frequent heavy traffic during school hours. “What are we going to do in there that doesn’t have traffic during normal school hours?” he asked.

Sheckles told Hagan he felt the city was fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct the land swap without cost. Sheckles said he has been contacted by organizations seeking to use the building in addition to the uses by the city’s recreation, fire and police departments.

Mayor Bill Sheckles makes remarks in support of the proposed land swap that would give the city ownership of the former Old Kentucky Home Intermediate school property at the corner of East Muir and South First. Click to enlarge.

“If that’s the case, then why don’t lease it from them? Let them own it and have a long-term lease?” Hagan asked.

“We’ve been hashing this out for more than a year,” Sheckles said, chiding the councilmen for agreeing to move forward at an earlier meeting and being hesitant now.

Councilman Joe Buckman said the earlier agreements had been to move forward with negotiations with the school board and were not agreements on the final deal. Buckman said he agreed with Hagan, “I don’t believe we should be in the rental business.”

He also challenged the mayor’s statement that the property would cost nothing to acquire. “If you take the basic numbers and put a cost to letting that building sit there empty, with insurance and things, you’re going to spend at least $50,000 a year just to let it sit there,” Buckman said. “It’s a big building, and an old building, and old buildings cost a lot to operate.”

Buckman asked if thought had been given of the building’s fate if no tenants were found. “Vacancy rates are up dramatically on rental property,” he said. “Who is going to come up with the money to tear it down in 10 years?” He esitmated it would cost $1 million to demolish the building.

Sheckles said Buckman — who has rehabbed older homes in his business — “threw him a curve” by voicing concern about the proposed land swap. “You, more than anyone else, has been an advocate for keeping old buildings and using them for the best use for the community.”

“Is it the city’s job to have space for colleges to come in?” Buckman asked. “What if we can’t fill this building up?”

Sheckles told Buckman he wasn’t looking at the negatives. “You probably haven’t been contacted by as many people as I have” about using the old school property. Sheckles said the fact that the city gets the property, gets rid of property it can use, and the community gets to benefit from the deal made it a “win, win, win” situation.

Councilman Bobby Simpson agreed there would be costs with the land swap, however he said the use of the property for recreational use is a huge plus. “To me, we’re getting that gym, and we couldn’t afford to build one like it today,” he said. “Sure there’s work to do, but we can use it now.”

Sheckles told the council that he hoped they would have trust in him and his staff to come up with uses for the property.

The council voted 4-2 to approve giving Sheckles authorization to enter into the contract for the land swap. Councilmen Hagan and Buckman voted against the authorization.

After the meeting, Hagan said he would rather the council have a plan in place with use for the property prior to acquiring the school property. “It’s a big building and we’re not going to use it all,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff to maintain, and a lot modification the building will need.”

Buckman said he voted against the proposal because he is opposed to the city being in the rental business. The original discussion about the property was for city use, including the fire and police departments, he said. Rental property of this type is better left to private enterprise, he said.

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