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Cabell board to pursue Marshall property

August 27, 2008 @ 12:00 AM

BY BILL ROSENBERER

The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON - The Cabell County Board of Education unanimously voted Tuesday night to pursue Marshall University's University Heights property, where it would like to build a middle school to house students from Enslow and Beverly Hills.

Board members were forced to take quick action because the 12.8 acre parcel is being sought after by Prestera Center. According to a public hearing notice that first appeared in the Aug. 21 edition of The Herald-Dispatch, Marshall is seeking at least $1.7 million. It's not known what Prestera Center has offered, but Superintendent William Smith said a member of the university's legal staff told him any offers made for the site are not part of a closed-bid process.

Smith said he and some of the board members will attend the 10 a.m. public hearing Friday in the Alumni Lounge of the Memorial Student Center, where Prestera officials will discuss their intentions for the site, and the mental health provider's bid may become public knowledge.

Smith said the board will then reconvene at 1:30 p.m. to consider making an offer.

"The board cannot make an offer without a public vote," Smith said.

But board members want the University Heights site. They said it is the best site available when compared to the 50-plus acres Cabell County Schools owns beside the Cabell County Career Technology Center or the Veterans Memorial Field House.

"It's very clear to me the University Apartments site is the best site," board member Greg Borowski said. "All the criteria we're looking at are met."

He went on to say the Tech Center site was a distant second in his mind, and he and Bessie Holley both said they didn't want the Field House, located on 5th Avenue, ranked at all.

Suzanne Oxley was the only member who listed the Field House over the Tech Center, but for no other reason than the amount of earthwork that would need done on the county's property.

The vote was taken after ZMM architect Dave Ferguson reported cost estimates for each of the properties. The most expensive, Ferguson said, would be the Field House, estimating that the demolition alone could reach $3 million. He also said it would be best to purchase a vacant commercial structure and housing property in order for the school to have the entire block.

In addition, Ferguson estimated a $225,000 storm drain system and a $150,000 buffer would be necessary as well. At most, Ferguson said the board would have to incur about $4.4 million, and that assumes the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District hands the property over at no cost.

The Tech Center, Ferguson said, could cost as much as $3.5 million, all of which would be directly tied to earthwork. The University Heights property is the most economically feasible, but the $3.2 million estimate is based on the minimum bid Marshall is looking for.

"It's the most practical way to go to give the students the kind of school they are entitled to," board president Ted Barr said of the Marshall property.

Huntington City Councilman Jim Insco wasn't pleased with any of the sites.

"I don't think the site they picked fits the criteria," Insco said. "I just think there are aspects of a community-based school. There are intangibles that you can't put a price on."

Insco said Huntington High School's community support has dwindled since the two city schools were consolidated in mid-1990s, and he said he remembers that board's intention was to consolidate Beverly Hills and Enslow and move into Huntington East High School. But it became home of the Board of Education Central Office.

Insco admitted the list of sites reviewed was extensive, but he believes neither the city of Huntington nor the superintendent put heads together to find an answer that pleased both communities.

"It's another example of governments not working together and the people losing," he said.

But Smith and members of the board were adamant that residents know they did look for a site that would work. The three at the top, they said, are just the best available.

"If one of these (sites) doesn't work, I'm not sure there is one to serve our needs," Oxley said. "These aren't perfect sites, but it's the best we have."

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