Trustees delay vote on sale of Fourth Street Gym after city offers $1.8M; board asks for replacement plan

District staff and trustees spent extended time discussing a city proposal to acquire the Fourth Street Gym. Staff said the city’s offer would pay an $1.8 million purchase price, pay the appraised value (reported by staff as about $1.7 million) and apply any difference between appraisal and offer toward closing costs; the city also proposed a rental arrangement for technology/storage spaces at $1,500 per month and to assume utility payments for non-district uses.

Staff described the proposed occupancy terms: the city would run scheduling for non-district users, give district preferential gym scheduling for major events (with adequate notice), and asked the district to vacate three storage areas and some upstairs space; staff said the city proposed the district could occupy certain technology rooms for one year and other spaces for two years under the draft timeline.

Trustees raised several concerns: the loss of storage and 'technology' warehouse space that holds district backups and equipment; whether a like-for-like replacement was feasible for the $1.5M–$1.8M magnitude; projected utility and maintenance differences if district programs were moved to other buildings; and the limited number of responsive buyers (staff said there was one responsive offer). Several trustees suggested a longer occupancy or transitional timeline (three to five years) and asked LKV architects to provide drawings and cost estimates for replacement space.

Board action: trustees declined to take immediate final action. Instead they asked staff to bring an LKV plan showing options, potential replacement costs and timelines and to return to the board at the next meeting; staff will continue negotiations with the city and report back.

The board did not accept the city offer at this meeting; it placed the sale discussion on the next month’s agenda and directed staff to prepare alternative plans and cost estimates.