with outgoing Yavapai County Supervisor Donna Michaels; [D-District 3] Negotiations between the Sedona-Oak Creek School District and the county to take over the struggling former Big Park Community School appear to have fallen apart.
Michaels did not respond to an interview request to discuss the status of “Heart of the Village: Reusing Big Park School,” the county's plan to purchase BPCS at 25 West Saddlehorn Road in the Village of Oak Creek.
Michaels lost his re-election bid to former Jerome Mayor Nikki Cech by more than 42 points, 71.4% to 28.6%, in the July 30 Democratic primary. Cech will face Republican candidate Lori Drake, chairwoman of the Mingus Union High School Board of Trustees, in November.
Michaels will step down after the November election and be replaced by the winner of the general election.
Neither Check nor Drake have expressed interest in reviving Michaels' proposal. Check said the discussions could be rekindled with a space study for a Yavapai County Sheriff's Office branch or the Yavapai County Free Library District in the future. Such discussions would likely require a letter of intent.
Sedona-Oak Creek School District
Asked if he considered Michaels' proposal dead, SOCSD Board Chairman Randy Hawley said, “At this point, yes.”
“From the county, [Michaels] “For months, we've assumed it's dead,” he said. “So we [the option to sell BPCS] It's on the November ballot. That doesn't mean we can't go back and work something out if they propose it. Just because the voters say we can sell to a private company doesn't mean we have to. If the county is willing to do that, we can go back and work with the county. But at this point, it seems highly unlikely that they're willing to do that.”
“We don't have the manpower to be a landlord, we don't have anyone who wants to be a landlord, so when Michaels came to us, we thought it was a great idea and we went for it,” Hawley said, “But it's not working, so we decided to put it to a vote to get permission to sell.”
“I doubt it,” SOCSD Superintendent Tom Swanninger said in response to the same question, adding that he hasn't heard of any interest from county government officials other than Michaels. “I've always kept the door open. … I've never closed the door, but nobody's come through that door.”
The SOCSD Board of Trustees unanimously voted April 2 to ask voters for permission to sell the 20.8 acres of Big Park land to a private entity during the Nov. 5 election, following three months of inaction by the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Supervisors’ lack of interest in including the Big Park land in an upcoming space study by Gensler.
SOCSD has the authority to sell its property to other government entities, but any private sales require voter approval.
“The building has not been structurally improved, and it is not prudent to invest in a building that does not serve our students,” Swarninger said. The roofs on one or more buildings need repairs at an estimated cost of $146,000, and they cost the district about $14,000 a year to maintain. Swarninger has said elsewhere that proceeds from the sale will be used to improve security at other schools in the district.
The current tenants of the former school building are the Sedona Public Library and a church, which operate a branch at the location. The Sedona Village Rotary Club also operates a community garden on the site. SOCSD staff said the district will honor all existing leases and neither organization is at risk of displacing in the immediate future. Hawley said the freeze on accepting new tenants, which was put in place in response to Michael's proposal, will remain in effect.
The nonprofit Emerson Theatre Collaborative vacated space at The Collective Shopping Center and was set to rent space at BPCS as a performance venue before the SOCSD board approved Michael's personal letter of intent, but has since used the nearby Verde Valley School.
The SOCSD Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on Monday, September 23rd at 5pm in the BPCS auditorium to answer resident questions and hear input on the proposed sale.
“We'll see what kind of interest there is and if we feel it's necessary to hold a second one, [forum]”We plan to do that,” Swanninger said.
County Study
No other county officials or supervisors other than Michaels have expressed interest in Michaels' proposal for the land, and county staff has deferred all questions about the proposal until a land survey that does not include the Big Park property is completed.
“The reality is, we can't begin or even consider that process until the space study is complete,” Michaels said in a video message to the nonprofit Big Park Regional Coordinating Council on Feb. 8. “I think we'll have something by the end of this month, and then probably by the spring, if the full board approves this, we can make a decision and begin the process. I'm working hard to make that happen.”
Video courtesy of Yavapai County
“That space study should be completed by the end of this month, at which point we'll be able to fine-tune what we can do as a county and begin to negotiate and discuss,” Michaels said during an open house on Feb. 27 at the Sedona Public Library in the Yavapai County Village.
Yavapai County Public Information Officer David McAtee said Aug. 22 that the commission does not currently plan to further consider Michael's proposal.
“The focus of this report is to make recommendations that prioritize department and office needs in order to make the most effective and economical use of facilities and land owned or leased by the County over the next 20 years,” the space study report states. “Every effort should be made to locate existing facilities for sale that can be configured to meet the specific needs of the relocating department.[s] or office[s] … Purchasing a building is always going to be less expensive than building a new facility of a similar size.”
The study included a list of properties it recommended the county build or purchase, including the Cottonwood data center and eight other buildings. The Board of Supervisors filed an amendment on Jan. 17 to add BPCS to the study.
YCSO Substation
One of the suggestions Michael made repeatedly during public talks about the proposed purchase was that the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office could use part of the school as office space and a staging area for search and rescue operations.
The study report included recommendations to expand YCSO by building new substations in Cornville, Cottonwood, West Sedona and the VOC, but it also recommended that YCSO terminate the lease on its current substation at 6446 Highway 179, Suite 217, and build a new, purpose-built, 2,000-square-foot facility instead.
They plan to remain in their current VOC substation location for the time being, YCSO Sergeant Anthony Horn told the BPRCC on Aug. 8. YCSO's current building lease at the VOC was extended for one year on Aug. 7, bringing the rent for the 820-square-foot space to $16,620.
“We're also working on fixing the internet so that officers can actually work in that office, but the Board of Supervisors won't approve that until the lease is signed,” Horn continued. “Once the lease is signed, you'll start seeing a lot more patrol cars there.”
“I know there are rumors that they are considering other locations. [such as] “The construction of a Big Park school has been discussed by command staff and the board of supervisors. Financially, I don't think it will happen and if it does, it's many years away,” Horn said.
Horn also noted in his presentation that there is little demand for YCSOs in the VOC.
“I’m happy to report that we’re not busy,” Horn said. “The biggest issue we’ve had lately has been the parking issues on Verde Valley School Road and nearby. [Red Rock] “Crossing the street…that's the classic example. Theft and fraud. But thankfully the Village of Oak Creek didn't keep us busy.”
The Gensler report also recommended the county conduct two additional spatial studies specific to the library and the YCSO substation.
