LAURINBURG — The future of the former I. Ellis Johnson school is still up in the air over concerns about the total cost because of gthe necessary improvements.
The Scotland County Commissioners met on Monday for a special meeting to discuss the future of the school. The meeting brought in many from the public which led to standing room only very quickly as people filed in to hear the verdict on the school.
“We are here at the request of the I. E. Johnson Committee who met last Tuesday and I believe were bothered by something that might have occurred,” said Chairman Whit Gibson. “So we’re having this meeting to clarify that and I hope that we do what is best for this county in a positive and uplifting manner.”
Commissioner Darrel “B.J.” Gibson spoke to the board about what went on during the meeting, which included what the estimated cost would be to operate the building and the current plan.
“Our conversation has been that we do things in phases,” Darrel said. “We don’t want to wait until the whole building is in an operable state before we go in. Maybe Phase One we have Parks and Rec handle the gym opening so the community can utilize that area.”
Gibson shared the vision of the project which not only included the gym being open for the community but also a hub for the police department and sheriff’s office, office space, areas for tutoring and much more.
“We want to preserve and produce, it is evident by those who are here that the IEJ building is a monumental site and we want to preserve the history that is there,” Darrel said. “While at the same time providing resources that we’re hoping will help the economic, educational and social levels of the low-income families of Scotland County. We cannot turn a blind eye that that particular part of our community is in devastation. If we don’t pour some resources there we can do all we want to other parts of town but when you’re coming into Scotland County you’re going to come in on the north side of town.”
Commissioner Tim Ivey shared the information on costs that the committee had come up with based on what the schools had given them. When the school was fully operational it cost the school system $84,000 a year while once the school was no longer fully operational it still cost $38,000 a year.
“So the Board of Education has offered for us to assume the ownership of the building at no cost,” Ivey said. “We actually came up with an additional number — $300,000 — to get that building under the county’s control, to do the cosmetic and infrastructure stuff, hiring a director to coordinate the building … and a part-time person for parks and rec.”
Ivey added once it’s open they believe that the building would be between $40,000 to $50,000 a year to run. Despite this, Whit along with Commissioner Carol McCall voiced concerns about how much money the school could cost.
“You can’t take ownership of a building blindly and I think that’s what we’d be doing if we took ownership of this building at the current time,” McCall said. “We do not have firm calculations on the cost and there are always hidden costs. One thing that’s not on the inspection cost is the bathrooms. We know what happened at Covington Street — it cost $300,000 to get the bathrooms to where they were serviceable for adults.”
It was agreed to have County Manager Kevin Patterson look at some items to figure out a cost to bring back to the September meeting including looking at the roof, plumbing, the gym floor where it looks to have water damage, what will help get the gym open and operating safely, the HVAC inventory and more will come not just to next month but as the project continues to advance.
“Everything in that community has been taken out,” Ivey said. “The school, the fire station so there needs to be something there. There’s a need and there’s that 60,000 square-foot building. Is it new? No. Is it ever going to be new? No. But to build something comperable to what is there now you’re talking 10’s of thousands of dollars to build. So why not try and maintain what’s there?”
Reach Katelin Gandee at kgandee@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.