001So, I'm going to go ahead and call the special meeting of the Springo School Board, uh, September 3rd, 2025 meeting to order. Please all stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Go >> ahead. Any changes to the agenda? >> No, sir. >> Okay. We approve the agenda as presented. >> Second. >> A motion by Mrs. Creek and a second by Mrs. Cook to approve the agenda as presented. All those in favor? >> I opposed and no patron. Motion passes. No patron comments. All right. So that brings us to the purchase of 1707 Westwood Avenue. >> Thank you very much. which I know
002this is highly unusual to have special meetings, but the close of the property I think is slated for Friday and um so it kind of worked out. We couldn't get to our next board meeting. Part of the reason why I asked you to to maybe meet today is this came up kind of suddenly. Dusty's brother founded I guess Dusty's brother's a realtor. >> Yes. And we had been working on trying to figure out a way to create a road access into Westwood on this location and that would mean that we'd have to try to purchase this property from this owner and it was becoming a struggle and I think this is is this 1707? Show me where it is. Is that Anyway, while he's finding it, >> 1707 came for sale. I drove down through
003there. Dusty happened to be driving down through there and saw it and saw it on the map where it um became available and I think shot them just a really low offer just to see if they would be available. They had it at 250 or somewhere in there and then it came down to 240 or something and I don't know what he offered but he wound up at around 220 and um surprisingly they took it right and u anyway he asked me after I think he did it in the hopes that we would just take it otherwise he's going to own a home and uh anyway started working on >> surprise >> I was driving up and down Westwood because we were trying to figure out a way to get a connection. I saw that
004it was for sale. So then I called on it and then went through the process of making the offer back and forth and then they accepted at the 220. So then I said this would be good for the district to have because this takes care of our access we need and for the school additional capacity for the sewer that is on West. Okay. So, and I can show you the large scale drawing we just submitted last week. And we actually have a connection that's going to help us go to Westwood Avenue instead of to the green for the but here's some of the beauty of this. You know, typically if a house is in the way, most of the time the house isn't much good. This house is in really good shape. So, as you
005know, we're working on maneuvering another piece of property. Without going into a lot of detail, I know you already know a lot about it, but over on another piece of property downtown that we own, we can move this house there. And should we sell that larger piece of that property, another home's kind of in the way, we believe we can trade the people who own that home or this house that we're going to set up and it would create a bigger piece of the pie. That make any sense without going into a lot of detail. And it would really help the overall process. I hate to go into a lot of detail here. So, uh, that would shore up that that, uh, potential move. And, if not, we still have it over there and we
006can use it for teacher housing if none of that works out. Does that make sense? So, it's a really nice house. So, >> is there going to be any issues with the city as far as making that a street? All right. No, we we've already talked to them about gaining access to Westwood from the property, >> and they're all for having the connection for a different for another means in um if we were to do the housing, the amount of housing we have, we need two ways in and out. So, we would need that extra one for the housing regardless of where it's at connecting to Westwood. >> You want to go ahead and go through that portion for us? >> Yeah. >> So, I can show. So we submitted for Western Elementary and so
007these are just some of the technical elevation drawings that we present that go as part of large scale development and then I'll show you the then I don't know how much we want to talk about the overall school stuff today but I'll show you the connection and what we submitted. >> It's their meeting. Whatever they have questions on we happy to talk. >> Yeah. So, um, for Westwood, this shows the new elementary school with the media center being renovated into the prek center. So, you can see how it fits on the overall with where the existing building is. But, I will go to the um large scale drawings that were turned in. So, we can kind of go through those. So here's the Elon and you can see here this connection that we're talking about
008to the north will help us out with the cost of Westwood with utilities with sewer and electric. So this is the connection we're showing to that 1707. Now if it didn't happen, we can take that somewhere else. This is just the option with that property being included as part of the overall. >> So you're saying the anticipated cost savings? >> Yes. By being able to go to the north as opposed to taking everything back to McCrae or to the east. >> So it could be substantial. >> Yes. Yeah. We'll have savings. The cost of that we don't know yet. We've got another follow-up meeting with the contractor to go through the cost differences. Um, one of the main reasons is all of our the cafeteria and all the heavy plumbing is on this side of
009the school. And so instead of running it all on a new service in a gray, it's easier to run it out to Westwood Avenue. And then and also doing this, it plans for the future housing if we're to do that. So, and then here's kind of the overall if we were to have that parcel, then that's where the utilities would be. And then that would be the drive and some additional parking to then be able to do teacher housing. Now, this is a I don't know what the packet shows. Um, originally when we looked at the uh the property, we tried to maximize it out with two-bedroom units to see how many we could get on there. But then we started to think more about the unit mix and if we had the need for
010studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms, or three bedrooms. So then we changed the unit mix up with different types of buildings. And then we got to a total of 62 units to be able to fit on there. And with 62, once you get over a certain number of units, you have to have two ways in and out for fire. So, this allows us to be able to maximize to the 62 as opposed to not being able to do as many units. And so with the with the property purchase, it helps us out twofold. one for the actual school and utilities and then two if we're move forward with the future project then we already have access that we need to build out the 62 >> and it help us with that. >> Yeah. And the additional
011of if we were to relocate the house that would be needed at another property >> is Westwood running across the bottom. Um, McCrae McRae, that's what And then Westwood's going up. >> And yes, and then Westwood is up at the top. You show the connection. >> So, currently into the property, there's the connection to the neighborhood to the east, and then there is this in and back out. With the new design, we're putting in three new curve cuts on the Cray, all of them aligning with the streets across. So that way for the amount of walkers that attend Westwood, we've got safer crossings going across. And then um it also sets it up to where trying to get the traffic off McCrae. We have dedicated pickup lines for we've got a first and second grade
012pickup line or I'm sorry K through two pickup line and then a third through fifth and then dedicated parking for the access to the prek. >> Plus we're cognizant of all those trees too, right? Yes. Yes. There's some old growth trees we don't want to mess with. >> So, who's building the housing? >> Did you say who's building >> who's building the housing? >> Well, we're working with Accelerate and we're also um working with the Walton family and there's a third component. We're looking for additional funding to uh complete it. And so remind remind me when it's done when the housing development's done, what happens? It gets deeded to the district. It it's ours. It would always be ours. >> Okay. >> But uh it could generate anywhere between 1.2 and $1.5 million per year
013in rent. And if it's all paid for, it would just be additional revenue to the district. But it would provide however many people who live in there access. and the the >> So this whole proposal means that we're not going to have any we'll own it but we won't pay for it. >> That's that's the idea is that we would own it, someone else would fund it. >> That accelerate foundation on that >> would help offset the rents. >> That way bus drivers, custodians, teachers, aids and all could afford it. It would be supplemented rent and then people could live here and work here and stay here and be part of our community. >> Do they have to be employees? >> They have to be employees. The district and that's part of it. You you
014u got to be an employee to be here and you got to stay here at least a year. You need to finish your contract. So there's the the current overall and then this is just massing out the school and then showing how the the workforce housing could be could be built in. >> That's without the access road or is it >> it is it's just it continues to the trees. >> Yeah. >> Can you mentioned prek a couple times I might be missing something. Is there >> We thought we'd have some prek classrooms in the >> the current media center. >> Yes. Current libraries. Okay. >> Cuz we needed to keep something there instead of having a whole new rebuild. >> It's a remodel. It's a remodel. >> Gotcha. Okay. >> Remodel place. >> Would
015be like an aful or the whole ECC or >> No, no. I think there's room. We have four classrooms. >> Gotcha. >> What's the building to the left over here? That's that's district storage right now. It's the current building. >> And so we would repurpose that. We don't have to tear it down. So we'd repurpose it as a district maintain. So >> would we have any push back from the neighborhood? >> We would certainly need to do some some community conversations, but I think He's going to do nothing but help. >> Yeah, >> I don't disagree with that side of it. I'm talking about multi >> more traffic. I'm talking about going >> when you buy a house necessarily know that next to you is going to be >> the mayor. The mayor is highly
016>> No, I'm talking about the street. I mean, >> the mayor is highly supportive of the proposal and I believe the city council is too. What What feedback have you received from the city? >> They're all all positive. Yeah. >> And another component is the greenway expansion that would be coming down H Avenue, be able to offer the greenway to be able to come through the property and then connect over to the park. So, that's one of the reasons they're also excited about this is being able to take the greenway through the property along the west side. Is is there um and I know we're probably taking longer than we should, but is there um like from an insurance standpoint like does the district's state policy cover? >> We would get secondary insurance like we
017do on the houses that we own. >> So we're already doing a small scale. We are model. >> So, we've been working with Accelerate and we also have an outside gentleman who's showing us how to walk through this and this is a financial model. So, Dusty. >> Yeah. So um with the help of the community design center and their partnership with Accelerate Walton family foundation um they have already went through with the asks because the way that typically it's set up is you have a project cost and then the amount of the to make the project work is what is shown as general obligation and then the additional to be able to to be able to offer the reduced rates is the gap funding. So what they're doing is asking for the gap funding to
018make the project viable. And so the accelerate is looking at a $2 half million contribution. The family foundation is looking at a $5 million contribution. Both those have different terms in them that when you go through the financials, the accelerate is a basically a $2.5 million loan at a low rate. The Walt family foundation is a loan that's also a gift because that loan is tied to a 1% return of the initial investment. So it's like a it ends up being like a $30,000 payback and the rest is all donated. So they're they're both set up differently. So there would be different agreements with both Accelerate and the Walt family foundation. Accelerate has already approved their portion of the funding. Wow Foundation, their board meeting is this month and so they have everything that is
019shown here as well as the renderings to be able to make their decision which would then leave the general obligation of the 5.8 and then that is where we would start a fundraising opportunity for the city. And we've already had a few conversations about that amount because the project works with the amount of income because of the gap funding that would be provided by Accelerate and the Walt family foundation. Um, so it cash flows very well just based on that with the project cost, but then anything else that the school district could generate in funding for the general obligation just continues to help. I told Dusty we have a project if he goes and finds the $6 million we need. He said, "Okay, >> but we're on the hook for the 5.8." >> Yes. Theoretically,
020>> Dusty is really let you forget it either. >> That's the beauty. That's the beauty of if we have a project >> is that is that just for the housing? That's just for the housing. >> Yes. Yes. >> The school budget ranges between 24 and 26. >> We're shooting for 24. >> Okay. >> And then so then they they put in for the financials the studio onebedroom, two bedroom, threebedroom rental option square footage. When we met with Accelerate, our first conversation was about teacher, just teacher. And they said, "Look, we really want to invest in Springdale, but if you'll do it for all employees, we can really help offset those rents, bus drivers, classified any any classified employee, and certified employee." And that I didn't know they wanted to do that. So that touched our
021hearts really and uh made easier they kind of coached us on the application. >> And then with this model you you have set up with standard rental rates but then there's also the mix of it changes based on employee income. So you can the the rent model can go up and down based on the employees salaries. But this is a general mix of rental rates that meet the HUD standards for fair market which means it's 30% less than than market rate. So like a twobedroom it show 1163 but in the market right now two-bedroom is 15 to600. So they they take into account all that and then show it at the lower rate. >> So who's subsidizing the difference then? Or do we just collect what we collect 30% less? That's that's what the gap
022funding on construction is for is in order to be able to offer at the lower rate. >> So if you were to offer these at market rate then the gap funding number will decrease which means they would give less if you were going to be leasing at market. But if you're going to lease at the lower rate the fair market housing rates then that's where they come up. They give more of the gap funding. And if we owed nothing for the property to afford to offer it at a lower rate, >> how long does that agreement stay in place? >> Just in perpetuity, forever. Is that the way it always is or is it? >> Yeah. So, the way that the financial model sets up for that's why I said they're they're set up a
023little bit differently. So, here's a 10 10 year operating projection. They show all the numbers um the amount of money that comes off. But then if you look here, the Walt family foundation is a $5 million contribution um that is into there with a $5,000 payoff. So they're basically donating the $5 million for the $5,000. Accelerate is a little bit different. I mean, you're paying back what they're giving, but they're giving it at a 10-year 4 and a.5% interest. So the Accelerate grant is more of a loan at a lower interest rate. And then this shows the 10year and I mean they're showing a high 9.2 but but it all works with these numbers of the gap funding from the foundation. >> But none of this is in stone at all right now. This is
024just what we're looking to. >> This is just one one of the pieces that would be benefited from the purchase of the product. And regardless if we do the housing or not, 1707 Westwood is beneficial even if we just did the circle. >> Yes. It still fits the utility needs for Westwood and it also fits the needs to be able to relocate that property to another one that help >> with a different project. >> Okay. >> All right. So, if it's okay with the board, I I would recommend purchase we pay for it out of the building. I make a motion that we approve the purchase of the property at 1707 Westwood Avenue. >> Second. Have a motion by Mrs. Cook and a second by Mr. Ramos to approve the purchase of the property at
0251707 Westwood Avenue. All those in favor? >> I opposed. Motion passes. I know ask her to do some unconventional things, but we're in a conventional school district and I think that we pushed the needle and I think that's what we're supposed to do because we do good things for kids. So, thank you very much. >> Appreciate you all. With that meeting is ajourned.