11/18/13 Development of Layton Elementary could top $6.8 million

  • By Nick Sabo
  • November 13, 2013
  • 388
                        
SUMMARY: Studies show Winter Street water tower is in operable condition, does not need to come down Development of a water tower and police station at a former Wooster elementary school could carry a price tag of $6.8 million or more. According to a study by Architectual Resources Corporation, temporarily moving the Wooster Police Department station inside Layton Elementery would cost $1,942,843. A new water tower would cost $4,910,000. The estimate includes the cost of acquiring the Layton property for $75,000, which the city did on April 25. On the other side of the coin, the option of leaving things as they appear to be cheaper. The studies indicate the City of Wooster appears to be considering Layton for future development. How serious the city is about pursuing the options remains to be seen: Calls by the Wooster Weekly News to city officials were not returned. City officials have publicly stated that the water tower project is several years down the road. The Architectual Resources Corporation’s estimate does not include additional work to bring the school up to Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines, energy code compliance and other work if the school is to become the police department’s permanent home. The City of Wooster contracted for the cost estimates that looked at relocating the Wooster Police Department to the Layton Elementary School. The city carried out its own study for a new water tower on the school property. A 199 feet high tower to carry communication equipment is also planned for the the Layton property. A resolution moving forward on the communication tower is scheduled to be brought up at council’s Nov. 18 meeting. The cost of the communication tower will probably be absorbed by the company that builds it. The city is seeking the tower in part to relocate equipment on the current water tower, located off Winter Street near Wooster Community Hospital. Plans for Layton Elementary have been discussed by city officials since at least October of 2012, prior to the city’s purchase of the property. In e-mails and documents obtained through a public records request by Burbank Road resident Jim Pooler, city officials, including Mayor Bob Brenneman, Director of Administration Joel Montgomery and City Director of Law Dick Benson had discussions with Wooster City Schools officials about the property’s potential use as a new water tower site. Pooler made the public records request Oct. 1, 2013, for all records related to the Layton property and cell phone tower. The city complied with the request, turning over e-mails and other documents dating from October 2012 to mid-October 2013. Pooler said he made the public records request because he was concerned about the impact development of the Layton property would have on his neighborhood. After speaking with city officials, Pooler felt he was still not getting the answers. “In my conversations with Mayor (Bob) Brenneman and Dick Benson, I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere,” Pooler said. “I felt like there was a master plan (for Layton) but we didn’t know what the master plan was.” The towers are opposed by some residents in the area, and these residents voiced their concerns in e-mails. In an Oct. 11, 2012 e-mail, Montgomery contacted Superintendant Michael Tefs about securing an easement on the property for a water tower. Communications about the property between city officials and WPD Chief Matt Fisher expanded into a new home for the police department. Eventually, the city purchased the school for $75,000 in April. A study commissioned by the city of the Winter Street water tower by engineering and architecture firm Burgess and Niple found that the tower is in good shape and is structurally sound, but needs about $380,000 in repairs. These repairs include replacement of handrails, some rusty bolts and repainting, according to the study. Layton Elementary and the Winter Street tower are about 500 feet apart. Both the city and hospital have acknowledged that the water tower does not have to be moved. Wooster Director of Administration Joel Montgomery, writing in an Oct. 11 e-mail, states “The tower itself is old, but it is still functioning and serving its purpose...it does not need to be replaced”. Montgomery’s e-mail was in response to a memo by WCH CEO Bill Sharon to WCH board members. In the memo, Sheron voices support for relocating the tower, as it currently blocks southward expansion of the hospital campus.The water tower is also located next to the hospital’s emergency helicopter helipad. Sheron states in the memo that the city “wanted/needed” to relocate the water tower. Montgomery said he has never stated that was the case and is unaware of a city employee or representative who stated otherwise. The hospital has pledged $1.5 million to the tower project. The pledge carries the proviso that the hospital will be granted access to the land the tower now sits on, Michelle Quisenberry, marketing and public relations director for Wooster Community Hospital, said. Quisenberry said the hospital will follow the city’s lead on the project. “If the city wants to keep it, we will work around it,” Quisenberry said. Quisenberry said the hospital is unaware of the Burgress and Niple study that found the Winter Street water tower to be structurally sound. As to the cell tower, Sheron writes in the memo that “We do feel a structure this high would cause a clear problem for helicopter operation- regardless of where the helipad was located on our campus.”


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load