Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Jefferson County School Board voted last week to allow School Superintendent Eydie Tricquet to submit a preliminary application to NextEra for a possible grant to repair the old high school gym on Water Street.
The decision on Tuesday evening, June 15, wasn’t unanimous, however; it passed three to two. Nor was the issue completely settled. The school board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, June 28, for members to review the completed application and say if they approve of its submittal by the June 30 deadline.
The gym – the only action item on the agenda – was making its third appearance before the board. Even so, there was still expressed confusion about the purpose of the grant, the county’s part in the matter and what might be the different players’ motives.
Tricquet reiterated that Timothy Bryant of NextEra had contacted her and encouraged the board to submit a preliminary application to see what funding might be available for the project. She had also, she said, contacted a contractor who had offered to give an assessment of what it would take to repair the building and how much it might cost.
Tricquet confirmed that youths were breaking into the building, not to vandalize the place, but to use the equipment that was inside.
“I would like to see, if nothing else, to make it into a community center,” Tricquet said. “PAL (Police Athletic League) is willing to continue its program there and to provide a place for the kids to go during the summer.”
Earlier, before the board formally took up the issue, Joy Frisby, the PAL secretary, had made an appeal to the board to approve the grant application.
PAL is leasing the building from the school district and had been providing an after-school program for youths before the pandemic caused the program’s suspension.
Frisby explained again that her organization had attempted to apply directly for the grant through NextEra but had been told that as the lessee, the organization had no legal standing to apply for the money. Only the owner, which is the school district, could apply for the grant, Frisby said she was told.
The county commission, Frisby said, did not want the building. She further noted that kids were continuing to break into the building to use the equipment, which constituted a liability for the school district if a youth should get hurt or injured, she said. She urged the board to apply for the grant.
“PAL will dissolve if the gym can’t be repaired and the building will go back to you,” she said.
School Board Member Bill Brumfield moved to apply for the grant.
“If we don’t do anything, we’re going to lose the whole building,” Brumfield said, commenting on its age and remembering that he had coached games in it as a district teacher “It will provide something for the kids to do during summer. Let’s at least test the water.”
Chairman Charles Boland agreed it was worth the try.
“It won’t hurt to explore,” he said.
School Board Member Shirley Washington, however, had a problem with what she called the “hearsay” nature of the discussion.
“I don’t do business on hearsay,” Washington said. “I have not heard a county commissioner come before this board and say that they don’t want the building. All I’ve heard is hearsay. When you’re dealing with hearsay on the other side of the table, it’s not right. I don’t see anything that’s in writing. Later, they can claim it’s all different. We also don’t have anything in front of us to explain the grant. All I hear is hearsay.”
Boland noted that he had spoken briefly with District 5 Commissioner Stephen Walker about the gym and the latter had told him that the county wasn’t interested in taking over the building. Washington, however, still wasn’t satisfied, seeing this as merely more hearsay.
School Board Member Sandra Saunders supported Washington.
“I just think that in fairness and not to make a mistake, someone should come before this board,” Saunders said. “Can we get a county commissioner and NextEra to come and tell us? Then everyone will have a clear understanding on what’s going on and we will also have a paper trail.
Told that the deadline for submission of the application was June 30, Saunders said the board should make the time to have a special meeting if necessary to ensure that everything was done right. If it was worth doing, it was worth doing right, she said.
School Board Attorney Thomas Reeves offered a clarification. The application, he said, was a preliminary one to determine if funding was even available.
“It doesn’t bind you in any way,” Reeves said. “You’re not bound to take the money, even if it’s available. There is no danger for the board to let the preliminary application go forward. And I don’t think you’re required to check with the county commission either. It’s your building.”
The board finally voted 3-2 to have Tricquet prepare the preliminary application and let the board review it before submitting it to NextEra.