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Old Millboro school group considers options
By Gina Hamilton • Contributing Writer
 | | Robin Sullenberger III, left, of Shenandoah Valley Partnership, answered questions last Thursday, April 17, for the Millboro residents' group trying to come up with a plan for the old school buildings and property. Others at the table are the group's officers, from left: Stephanie Forbes, secretary, and co-chairmen Don Blanchard and Jackie Plecker. (Recorder photo by Gina Hamilton) |
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MILLBORO - The residents' group seeking to develop its own plan for the old Millboro school property is wasting no time in that effort, holding meetings again on Thursday, April 17, this past Sunday and Tuesday. They selected a name, established an executive committee, and determined the best use of the buildings would be to incorporate apartments for retirees, a community center, and officecomplex, and use the smaller old home economics building as branch of the Bath County Historical Society.
The new organization will be called the Millboro Preservation and Cultural Association. "When we get started, we can preserve the whole county!" quipped Jackie Plecker, who serves as co-chair with Don Blanchard. Named to the executive committee were: Kaye May, Olivia Haney, Kay Hicklin, Vivian Manis, and Plecker.
Plecker spearheaded a recent petition to the Bath County Board of Supervisors for time to develop a local plan. The board was on the verge of accepting a contract proposal from Spectrum Design of Roanoke on the approximately four-acre property with school buildings at the corner of Crooked Spur Road and Route 668. The residents' group was given three months to bring a plan to the board for consideration.
The former elementary and high schools were closed in 1989. The campus with its shuttered, asbestos-laden buildings has languished since then. The county faces a cost of $500,000 to remove the asbestos.
As part of their information gathering, the residents' group met with Robin Sullenberger III of Shenandoah Valley Partnership based in Harrisonburg a week ago. He is also a Highland County supervisor. Through the partnership, he was instrumental in enabling The Highland Center, a former school in Monterey, with its successful conversion 10 years ago into a one-stop community center focused on cultural and economic development that supports business and non-profit incubation, offers retreat and conference space, on-site caterers, a youth employment program, farmers' market, and classes from officeprograms to dance.
Sullenberger recalled that he started his career in Bath County as a teacher. Today he is the chief executive officerof SVP. He told the residents, "I'm not going to come here with an answer and say you should do such and such. Other communities are experiencing similar situations." He urged them to at least be open to a company with a good track record like Spectrum being interested in the community.
He said new guidelines make it difficultfor companies to expand, and because of the economy and upcoming presidential election, federal contractors are in a lull. They are looking outside the Washington, D.C., corridor. "It is reasonable to think rural communities can be players in this kind of arena," he said, noting these companies are looking for officespace or to take in business operations, but it's not something that can happen overnight. For the Millboro site, he said, "You may get small entrepreneurial businesses, not big companies."
Confirmingthe group was looking at various ways to maximize use of the campus, Sullenberger said, "Nobody wants to lose a school facility because the identity of the community it tied to it, the identity of the people who went to school there."
He emphasized that "somebody's got to be the champion for this. Betty Mitchell has been doing this full-time for The Highland Center for the past 10 years. Someone has to spend an inordinate amount of time to make all the calls and contacts. Making a decision on what you want to see happen here is the easy part; making it actually happen is going to take time." He noted there are not a lot of options that are short-term.
Sullenberger said it's absolutely critical to have broadband, noting DSL service is totally outdated for business applications. (Broadband transmits large amounts of data, voice, and video; DSL is faster transmission over a regular telephone line.)
"We put broadband into Highland County through the phone company through grants and rural utilities," he said.
"We are all very tight-fisted in this part of the world. We have a tremendous work ethic, but we're not willing to take risks. I deal with that every day in Highland. So you have to go the grant route, (but) that pool of money is pretty much drying up."
With regard to business incubators, he said everyone pools resources with staff and equipment and that has worked in some places but takes even more time, "unless you have a lot of people with business ideas, or it won't work."
Blanchard asked, "Does The Highland Center now pay taxes?"
"They do," replied Sullenberger. "And we support everything they do and sign off on grants. They are not dependent on the county at all."
Plecker said the Millboro group needs to have some kind of business plan to take to the board of supervisors. She asked Sullenberger if they needed to set up a licensed limited corporation. Sullenberger said since they don't have any cash assets or facility yet, they don't really need to have an LLC.
"The two gentlemen (from Spectrum) have formed an LLC and the supervisors are willing to give it to them," Plecker said. "I think we need to get some kind of organization to tie it together. We have to have some kind of organization to apply for grants."
Sullenberger replied, "Yes, but 90 days is a pretty short time. I thought you wanted to present a plan." Plecker agreed and added, "And also financial backing for it." Sullenberger recommended they talk to an attorney on the best way to set up an LLC. He noted there are organizations that could work with the group on financial and planning aspects and "that would partner with you and could come to the table with you," he said.
"How can the Shenandoah Valley Partnership help us?" Plecker asked.
Sullenberger replied, "Our role is to bring business to the area, and companies looking for expansion. The best thing I can do is hook you up with the people and organizations you need to talk to. We have no mechanism for setting this organization up, though."
Plecker asked how long it would take to set up a non-profit 501(c3) organization. Sullenberger said the quickest way would be to affiliate with an organization that has non-profit status, such as a chamber.
Blanchard said, "We need consensus on what we want to do."
Sullenberger replied, "Mr. Blanchard is exactly right. You need to be unifiedamong yourselves where you want to go."
The meeting ended with residents agreeing to bring their building use plans to Sunday's meeting, getting input from BARC electric cooperative on potential officeor parking space needs, and addressing the question of whether the school buildings listed on the historic register could be torn down for a park, if that was the use option selected for the property.
Reiterating that she came (into this effort) as a taxpayer, Plecker said, "I'm not going to disagree with what the plan should be. But I walked around and was amazed at the good condition this building is in (the 1930 structure with gym). No wonder Spectrum wants it. I don't see why we can't have the green space and the buildings." She said the auditorium building "would be your ideal community center."
When contacted by The Recorder Monday, BARC general manager Bruce King said the new executive committee had already called him to set up a meeting. "We did have more serious discussion with the Spectrum group on parking. We have no specific plans for officespace; we have some interest," he said. "We'd need to look at the building physically and would like to see some commercial space, and we're willing to talk about it." He noted, however, nothing specific had developed yet.
As to rumors BARC would pull out of Millboro in the future, he said, "There are no plans to pull out of Millboro. We'd definitely be interested in parking space for employee parking. We realize it wouldn't be appropriate for trucks."
King added, "We'd like to talk to the community, what their plans are for the whole complex."
Group considers
options
As the same residents' group gathered last Sunday afternoon, again at the Ruritan Club building, they had the opportunity to review the Millboro School Feasibility Study prepared in March 2000 by R. Tucker Shields, an architect, of Staunton. Resident Vivian Manis brought in the detailed design plans obtained through a grant by Ruritan member Selby Schwend at that time, which focused on establishing a community center at the school site. Interest in the plans remained high among the current group.
Plecker said whatever has to be done could be done in phases, but "we have to have a concrete plan and how we're going to finance it."
Olivia Haney repeated her question on whether historically preserved buildings could be torn down, or the group may need to look at having two plans, one with the buildings and one without. Noting she liked the former Ruritan plans, she said they were pretty elaborate and could incorporate walking and nature trails, but "we need to figure out if the buildings stay or go," and if more grant money would be available to keep and restore the old school.
According to David Edwards, director of the northern regional officeof the state's Department of Historic Resources, the buildings can be torn down, but "we don't want that to happen. Whoever gets it, it's my hope it will be preserved," he told The Recorder this week.
Supervisor Stuart Hall said he walked through the old high school building with an environmental specialist and noted the roof had leaked through the ceiling but could be patched. "But with the (loose floor) tile removed, that building is as solid as the day I graduated from that," he said.
However, the county faces paying about $500,000 for asbestos removal, partial demolition and water and sewer fees in the school buildings, or $800,000 for asbestos removal and full demolition of the buildings and adding the land to the existing adjacent park.
Resident Randy Smith said he's heard it's more dangerous to remove asbestos than to cover it up. Hall agreed that some has to be removed, plus its lead-based paint, "but the condition of the buildings surprised me. They're fantastically solid," Hall said.
Resident Kaye May said the ancient electrical wiring would not support today's technology. "If whoever's going to renovate is going to drill more holes in the wall for outlets, complete (asbestos) removal would be the best way to go." She supported the idea of retiree/senior housing. Others agreed, calling it a "grand idea."
Plecker said renovations could start in the building with the gym, which has four rooms that could be rented; Spectrum's plan shows it as officespace. "The gym floor is not that bad," she said. "The walls are concrete, the ceiling is wood with iron rafters, and a stage is there. We could have it as community center." And while the gym floor is warped in the front area and one side of the building has some broken windows, she said it could be a "win-win situation right off" if the space could be rented.
The old high school section has big rooms that could be converted into eight apartments for retired persons, she said, noting an elevator would need to be installed. According to her calculations, this could generate $48,000 in income. "And once we'd generate money, we could have one apartment for a supervisor/manager and seven (other) apartments," she said. It was suggested to keep out low-rent housing, which brings the potential for crime and lower property values.
Plecker took her thoughts further, saying if the organization could get some money up front and have pledges over a three-year period, "say $25 a month from local people, or $2,700 per family," fund-raising letters would also be sent out to all graduates of the school. "This could be presented to the board of supervisors as an ongoing plan," she said.
Hall suggested since Carol Hardbarger is the Millboro District supervisor and does grant writing, the group should not hesitate to ask for her help. Hardbarger did not attend the meeting. Hall noted also that Homestead Preserve sets aside a certain percentage of its funds for the community. As to the federal programs, he said all the federal money is getting pulled away and more and more is going to the Iraq war.
The group debated spending $500 to get 501c designation and $500 for LLC and Plecker asked, "Suppose we get the LLC and at the end of 90 days the supervisors say no?" May recommended they not do it yet "but have everything ready, so if they say OK, we're ready to go."
Plecker said an engineering plan was needed for asbestos removal, noting Spectrum has $45,000 in its contract proposal to do that. She said she found someone in Lexington who would do it for less. And if the asbestos removal was divided into four phases, the cost could also be divided. Plecker planned to invite the man to the group's next meeting.
Meeting with
asbestos inspector
Lexington-based environmental scientist Chance Famuliner met with the residents Tuesday and presented information and a slide show that appeared like a beacon of hope for reclaiming and restoring the historic structures.
As a state-licensed asbestos inspector, his work also involves testing for lead and radon, evaluation of moisture, indoor air quality, mold, soil and water. Besides inspections, he prepares project designs for clients and offers planning and project monitoring.
Noting he went through the school buildings last week, Famuliner said, "In my line of work, we offer options." He showed a number of slides taken of the interior that showed asbestoscontaining material in the flooring of a former first-grade classroom and a textured ceiling. He said the gym area looked pretty clean and the backstage area was covered with dust.
Noting there was delamination (separation of layers) of flooring material in some areas of the building due to the building being closed up, he said, "You could literally walk through and pick it up and put in a plastic bag. In my eyes, this (project) is doable."
Famuliner said all the moisture holding materials could be removed to bring the interior down to studs, and the beautiful tin roof could use solar panels. He emphasized, "If you haven't heard fiveoptions, there's more to digest. You need to decide what's truly important to salvage to you all." He said his firm, Rockbridge Environmental Consulting, Inc., could prepare a comprehensive plan on what could be done and what's salvageable, and for less than the $45,000 projected by Spectrum Design.
Famuliner said a removal design plan would catalog all materials to be removed from the buildings and outline safe removal practices, which he understands has not been done. He said he would definitely suggest some type of phasing for the project.
Noting that regulations concerning asbestos in schools are most stringent about removal, he said, "This is no longer a school situation. You can use a real-world approach." He said with air quality studies and the delamination Mother Nature has already provided, the removal design plan should include the needs of the building owner on what features to preserve.
"If you haven't realized there are several different potentials, then there's still room for dialogue. If the asbestos was gone, you'd have unfettered access," he said. According to Famuliner, asbestos doesn't necessarily have to be removed. He said his preference is removal, but there are other acceptable procedures, such as enclosure. Then, if it's not disturbed, it can be left in place.
Smith reminded the group that "asbestos abatement has to be done, even if the building is torn down."
Famuliner agreed. "This is your blank slate; (think about) what do you want to do and present me with the ultimate wish, what kind of features are really important to you all. If not me, then somebody (doing the comprehensive plan)," he said.
Plecker said, "The supervisors have to take the asbestos out, then give it to us. So we can't do anything until then."
Hall said the slides Famuliner presented showed a worse-case scenario. "The classrooms are not like that." He has walked through both main buildings.
After three meetings in less than a week, plans are for the group's new executive committee to discuss options on how to proceed.
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