The Poplar Bluff R-I school board on Thursday heard a proposal from the Boys and Girls Club of the Heartland for a new Teen Center on district property adjacent to the senior high school.
Boys and Girls Club Director Chris Rushin shared his vision for a 40,000-square-foot facility on the hill behind the baseball field to expand educational, vocational and social growth opportunities for teens in Poplar Bluff and throughout Southeast Missouri.
“The ask,” as it was requested from Rushin by Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill, was for the board to consider entering into a lease agreement for the property.
All construction costs, which Rushin estimated at approximately $10 million, would be paid by Boys and Girls Club, and should the center ever close, both the building and the property would revert to school district ownership.
Rushin said he had already secured $2 million in state grant funding along with another $1 million from private stakeholders, as well as a pledge for the cost of the preliminary ground clearance.
He stated his intention to pay for the facility through fundraising and not financing.
“We’re going to make sure you’re going to be proud of this,” Rushin said.
Dill recommended the board consider a formal lease agreement at a future meeting that specifies the proposed details.
“If the board is open to the idea, we will work on crafting an agreement that represents little to no risk for the school district,” Dill said.
Part of Rushin’s proposal highlighted several vocational training programs offered by the Club to prepare teens to enter skilled, high-paying professions right after high school.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Poplar Bluff to enhance its reputation as a leader in workforce development in Southeast Missouri,” Dill said.
In more immediate construction news, Michael Pollard from Dille Pollard Architecture updated the board on the progress at the new Downtown Poplar Bluff district headquarters building.
This progress has been slower than originally expected, but Pollard informed the board that events are now gaining momentum, and the board should expect a full bid for completion of the facility by next month.
Bids for structural, mechanical and electrical engineering took longer than planned, but the pace afforded for significant cost and time savings in several areas, including a $90,000 savings for plumbing and HVAC.
Total construction time upon acceptance of the bids, which will come later this year, is estimated at 10-12 months, pushing completion well into 2024.
The district transportation building on Maud Street needs a new roof, which Assistant Superintendent Dr. Amy Jackson estimated will cost $150,000. Roof repairs are necessary, as the roof leaks when it rains.
However, that building is old and has several structural problems, so the board was also told a complete demolition of the existing building and construction of a new facility would cost about $350,000.
Several board members, including Ken Davis and Tim Gaebler, indicated the need for a new location with more bus parking room and wider entrance and exit points than the current location affords.
Dill stated that he had looked at several other properties but hadn’t yet found anything that meets the district’s needs.
No action was taken on this issue, but it will come back in a future meeting, as the roof repairs at the least remain a necessity.
In a continuation of the many construction and improvement projects throughout the school district, the board approved the following payments:
• Senior High Concession & Restroom Project payment #7 to CE Norton Construction for $34,674.98
• Junior High School Activity Center payment #4 to CE Norton Construction for $21,489.45
• Lake Road HVAC payment #1 to Buffington Brothers Heating & Air for $68,000
• Kay Porter Theater Pay App #3 to Buffington Brothers Heating & Air for $55,600
The board also approved the following bids:
• Mark Twain Building Window Replacements bid to Miller Drywall, Inc for $146,650
• Next-Generation Firewall bid to MORE.net-Columbia, MO for $43,646.34
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