Mebane’s city council took an unprecedented step Tuesday night in voting to start down the path of approving $381,547 toward the cost of a new elementary school planned by Orange County Schools on the edge of the city.
Mebane officials had asked the school system to consider enlarging the size of the gymnasium planned for the new school so that the city’s recreation department could use the gym for games and practices during non-school hours.
The council agreed to the first of possibly two memorandums of understanding with Orange County Schools, this one to outline the parameters of a joint use agreement between the school system and the city for a future elementary school.
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The size of the proposed elementary school gymnasium was increased by 875 square feet, at Mebane’s request, as well as providing for the installation of bleachers which otherwise would not have been included in the plans for the elementary school gym.
The new elementary school is planned for West Ten Road to the east of the Gravelly Hill Middle School and on the other side of an existing soccer complex.
[Story continues below photo of Gravelly Hill Middle School and layout of existing middle school, soccer fields, and proposed new elementary school, all along West Ten Road.]
Earlier this year, during a joint meeting between the city council and Orange County’s commissioners, much discussion focused on the potential for future “joint use” facilities.
The commissioners also made explicit their desire to bring Gravelly Hill Middle school, the soccer complex owned by the county, and the new elementary school within Mebane’s municipal limits. Doing so will save Orange County from paying the twice-higher water and sewer rates that apply to users outside the municipality’s corporate limits.
The council’s vote this week does not yet actually authorize the expenditure, but rather sets out a memorandum of understanding, which will lead to a subsequent vote to finance the $381,547 over a 10-year period. City officials said this separate authorization will come later.
After-school hours use
Under the provisions agreed to this week, Orange County Schools will grant Mebane use of the facility from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and at such other times as agreed upon between the two. The city promises that its use will not “interfere with [school system] events, activities, or needs.”
The city will provide its own equipment for its practices, programs, and events, including, but not limited to, basketballs and soccer balls. The school system will ensure that the basketball goals in the gym can be lowered to a height of eight feet.
The school system will maintain the facility, including the restrooms, floors, and perimeter equipment. Mebane will ensure that all trash is collected and disposed of and that the gym floor is swept after its events. The school system will be responsible for major cleaning and maintenance.
Ongoing operating costs to be paid by Mebane, as well
In addition to its $381,547 contribution toward construction costs, the city will be billed monthly and agrees to pay an ongoing pro-rated share of operating expenses, including maintenance fees, utilities, and any additional insurance required by the school system. Those fees will be calculated based on the area of space and total hours used at the facility, according to the memorandum of understanding adopted this week.
Those costs are estimated to be $1.1 million annually, according to the materials provided to the city council this week.
The council’s background materials also included preliminary estimates of the price to build its own freestanding facility ($3 million for a 5,600-square-foot pre-engineered metal building, not including the purchase of land) or a brick version (also of 5,600 square feet) attached to the existing Mebane Arts and Community Center (estimated to cost $4.3 million).
Council members agreed unanimously to the proposal presented by the city’s attorney, Lawson Brown, with several applauding the cooperation and opening of the city’s future use of the new elementary school gym.
Mayor Ed Hooks termed the cooperation “fantastic” and a “tremendous opportunity” for the city.
Council member Katie Burkholder said from her own experience as a “basketball mom” that it is often “tight” to find adequate space for basketball practices and games.
Councilmen Jonathan White and Sean Ewing also highlighted the success of the cooperation between the two jurisdictions.
Brown also noted that the future memorandum providing the actual money for construction at the new elementary school would be contingent on the school system formally requesting the annexation of the two school sites (the existing middle school and the future elementary school) and the county’s adjacent soccer field complex into Mebane and the council agreeing to do so.
