Return HomeChautauqua To Pay $5M For CLCS Buildings
Institution Plan Calls For Partial Demolition Of Former High School
By ANNE MARIE VENO
CHAUTAUQUA - Most of the Chautauqua Lake Middle School building will be demolished and the Turner Elementary building will become a ''large-scale recreation facility'' if the sale of the two buildings to Chautauqua Institution is finalized. Charles Heinz, Chautauqua Institution's vice president for administrative and community services, outlined the plans for the building during Wednesday's school board meeting. The Institution board and the Chautauqua Lake Central School District officials have agreed on a $5 million price tag for the two buildings. Public hearings on the agreement will be held Monday, Feb. 28, and Monday, March 20, with a referendum on the sale set for Wednesday, March 29. The buildings are for sale because they will not be needed by the district once the new all-grade building in completed. Construction should be done in time for the start of classes in September. The district's other building, the former Mayville High School, is also for sale. ''We view all of this as a community resource,'' Heinz said of the Turner Elementary building. ''We want Turner to be outside of the fence.'' The Institution's fence will run along part of Route 394, down to the school building, then across the back of the school, Heinz said. Most of the Route 394 frontage, including many memorial trees will remain. The former Chautauqua High School building, currently the district's middle school, will be taken down. ''The problems with that building are well-known,'' the Chautauqua official said. ''Most of the facility needs to come down. We hope to retain the gym, the technical and band buildings.'' Physical decay, lack of handicapped accessibility and the presence of asbestos are a few of the problems with the building that Institution officials cited in their report. ''Chautauqua Institution is nothing if it doesn't respect historic preservation. We plan to honor the Chautauqua school with photographs; memorabilia; perhaps displayed in Turner's lobby; so that graduates could come back and see their history,'' Heinz said. Once the building is cleared, the land will be used for parking. The remaining portion of the building will house the Institution's opera program, he said. The Turner site will have recreational and educational programs. The pool and gym will be maintained and a well-equipped fitness center will be installed, Heinz said. Classrooms could be used for special studies classes both during the summer season and as a continuing education site during the other months. Eight new tennis courts are planned along with a ''world-class playground,'' according to Heinz. The new tennis courts will replace the courts near the Institution's front gate. Other aspects of the development include the resale of home sites on the approximately 20-acre Turner site. The area is wooded and is across a small ravine from the school building and is close to an existing residential neighborhood. The sale will help the Institution pay for the cost of renovating the building, Heinz said. The $5 million the Institution is paying for the two sites will be paid to the school district over 19 years, as stated in the board's resolution. The first payment of $500,000 will be made at transfer of title in December. The Chautauqua Foundation will guarantee a note for the balance of the purchase price. A payment of $208,333.3 is due in 2001, and a payment of $250,000 is due each year from 2002 to 2018. In 2019, a payment of $41,667.7 is due. Of that initial $500,000 payment, $400,000 will be set aside for the bus purchase reserve fund. The remaining $100,000 will go in the district's capitol reserve fund. The amounts to be paid from 2001 to 2019 will offset any local costs of the ''Facility 2000'' capital project. If any balance remains it will be placed in the general fund, bus purchase fund or capital reserve fund. A newsletter explaining the sale in detail will be mailed to district residents soon, said board President Jay Baker. A complete descriptions of the properties being sold can be obtained from the district clerk's office, 2 Academy St., Mayville. Jack Voelker, a school board member, abstained from voting on the project, because he is employed by the Institution. Local business owner M.J. Eller asked the board why her request to purchase the driveway next to her business had not been answered. She is the owner of Shaw Cleaners, which is in the center of the school building and the main parking lot. ''I see no reason why, at the same time (of the building sale) let me purchase a deeded right-of-way,'' she said. ''On the advice of counsel, we chose not to address the issue,'' Baker said. Martin Coyle, chairman of the Institution's Asset Policy Committee, told her the Institution ''will respect the driveway, but is not interested in the transfer of title.'' He also said the Institution would not have been as interested in the property if the school district sold the right-of-way to Ms. Eller.
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