The Sedona Oak Creek Schools Board of Trustees may hold a vote in July to advance consideration of plans to lease Big Park Community School in Oak Creek Village to Yavapai County.
The lease and purchase agreements may be finalized at an upcoming board meeting, and SOCSD board chairman Randy Hawley said he hopes to do so in the coming months.
county letter of intent
The proposal for the county to lease the schools came from Third District Superintendent Donna Michaels, representing parts of Sedona, Oak Creek Village, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Jerome, and Cornville.
“We had six or seven conversations with her,” Hawley said. “She’s had her presentations before, and she talked to us about her concerns and she told us what she wanted to see.”
Hawley said he wants to rent the building because even if it is vacant, maintenance costs will be high. The tenancy agreement is currently being drafted, and Hawley expects it to be submitted to the school board within a few weeks.
County letters of intent are not binding, and the letter itself serves only as a starting point for negotiations. Outgoing Superintendent Dennis Dearden said SOCSD has not drafted its own letter of intent, but will do so if the board votes to continue the lease. The letter of intent proposes leases of up to 19 years at a rental rate of $1.25 per square foot. The rent paid will be applied to the final cost of the purchase under the lease purchase agreement.
Dearden said the property needs an appraisal. 19-Year Lease The Yavapai County letter offered to pay all initial repairs necessary to occupy the site. Subsequent repair costs will be deducted from the rent.
“I have a problem with the roof” [on the property]said Holly. “Some of our ceilings are leaking and some of our classrooms are leaking. [because] Very expensive.So part of the deal is that the county will pay for… [will] Repair all leaks. ”
The county letter also discusses the possibility of using the C building on campus as affordable housing for county employees. SOCSD planned to convert the building into condominiums for teachers and staff.
“I don’t know what kind of organization it is, but [Michaels] We want to be in there,” Hawley said. “I need some language” [the agreement] Any of the current leasing organizations [there], as long as they want to stay, we will respect them. We are not going to rent to organizations that compete with what is already there… Ultimately, we are still the owners of the building and have the final say on what goes into it . ”
current tenant
Two organizations currently occupy the site: the Tucson-based Christian Faith Fellowship satellite campus and the Sedona Public Library in the village.
Church pastor Dave Dahlberg said on June 19 that he had not heard from Yavapai County or SOCSD representatives about the proposed lease, and parishioners were unsure how it might affect them. He said he was very confused. However, SOCSD has since contacted Dahlberg and offered to reassure the school district regarding the current tenancy.
SPL officials met with county librarian Corey Christian in January, who said the county was looking at potential uses for the land for telemedicine and co-working spaces. . Christians asked SPL staff if he wanted to continue working with the VOC, and the staff replied that he was committed to staying with the VOC.
This was followed in February by a meeting with SPL Director Judy Poe and Michaels, in which Michaels said he wanted to add “additional library services” to the facility.
With no communication between the library and Superintendent Michaels since February, it was not clear to SPL officials what she meant. “I don’t know what the impact will be on the village Sedona Public Library,” Poe said.
Michaels cuts library funding
At its June 13 meeting, the Sedona City Council voted to donate $865,200 to the Sedona Public Library. This included the city’s regular donations and funds to offset cuts to libraries approved by Michaels.
“The way Yavapai County is funding the library is the districts that charge their taxes,” SPL Director Judy Poe explained at the Sedona City Council. “They collect taxes on all property in Yavapai County. These taxes will be passed to the county librarian to determine how they will be distributed for 2023. Sedona residents within the city limits will receive $407,577.92 in library taxes. They paid back $169,453 (41.5%).”
“Our County Supervisor [Michaels] We didn’t defend our residents in the face of these cuts,” Sedona City Councilman Kathy Kinsella said at the meeting.
“There’s only so much you can do and defend when you don’t have money,” Michaels later said when asked for comment. “In the last two years, our library district has experienced a combined inflation and cost of living increase of over 500,000.”
Yavapai County officials said inflation concerns were the reason a tax increase was not considered to avoid library cuts.
The county has cut funding for the following Verde Valley libraries:
Sedona Public Library: $76,826
Cottonwood Public Library: $47,065
Camp Verde Community Library: $25,570
Clarkdale Public Library: $11,538
Jerome Public Library: $7,133
Unincorporated areas of the county have escaped budget cuts because libraries are often the only public service available in the area,” the Christians said.
Other uses
“Me and Corey Christians, director of the Yavapai County Free Library District, want to expand our technology-related offerings,” Michaels said. “There are books in the library, and there are services like telemedicine.”
Michaels said he sees one potential use for the space as a partnership with the Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition for telemedicine at the location. Libraries are not mentioned in the letter of intent.
Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office has expressed interest in installing a substation on the property, and Michaels also noted that the campus is a potential venue for technical search and rescue demonstrations by the YCSO. bottom.
YCSO spokeswoman Christine Green said, “We absolutely need a substation in that area.” “We haven’t eaten in a while.[permanent] To be always present, not just a temporary patrol. ”
The YCSO will have to wait for lease approvals and roof repairs to be completed before moving from its current location in Castle Rock on State Route 179 to the Big Park campus.
“We don’t have a specific date for when we can move in,” Green said.
There is no indication that the SPL will be adversely affected by the county lease, but Board of Education officials have not been able to communicate details of the proposed land change because the county has refrained from discussing the plan.
“As long as they want to, we will honor their lease,” Hawley said. “We’re not kicking anyone out, we’re not changing contracts. We don’t know what’s going on there, so I can’t speak specifically.”
lack of communication
The announcement of the meeting came a few days ago when the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council, a non-profit organization in Oak Creek Village, said Michaels’ presentation to SOCSD was the first time members had been informed about the proposed lease. It follows a statement that
BPRCC Chairman John Wichart did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
“I don’t understand how they can’t know,” Hawley said. “I spoke with several members of Big Park. I mean there are some people who are upset thinking about it.”
Ms. Michaels also hesitated to respond to the BPRCC’s statement and, along with other VOC residents, spoke with former BPRCC president Camille Cox (who no longer holds a role at the nonprofit) on the issue. said we had a conversation.
Hawley said communication with county residents about the deal was not poor, and it is the same process SOCSD has used in previous land negotiations, as was the case with the Arizona School for the Deaf and the Library. said and added: The problem is unsubstantiated rumors about the closure of the VOC library.
“It’s only at this stage, or this moment in the development of a potential relationship, that I can participate in the whole community,” Michaels said. “We don’t want our readers to think that the deal is done.
