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City may lease Bailey Road building share
By KRISTI NIX
Pearland city officials are talking over the possibility of renting 50,000 sq. ft. of Pearland ISD’s Bailey Road facility for Parks and Recreation programs. The terms of the proposed lease were presented and discussed at a recent city council meeting.
Michelle Smith, Parks and Recreation Director, told Mayor Tom Reid and members of the City Council she felt the city’s recreation programs could be expanded to generate sufficient revenue to cover any additional costs. Smith presented several options and outcomes to the council and explained how the programs are currently managed.
At present, Pearland Parks and Recreation Department hosts programs and classes at two PISD campuses: Jamison Middle School and Pearland Junior High East, Smith said. For this arrangement, the city pays the district $60,000 a year. Under terms of the proposed lease agreement, the Parks and Recreation Department could consolidate their programs under one roof. But, the lease amount would go up to $15,000 a month or $180,000 a year, Smith said.
The Bailey Road Facility, the former Ninth Grade Center also known as the “old” Dawson High School, is a 240,000 sq. ft. facility that currently sits empty. District officials say they had expected Pearland’s growth to continue to the extent they would need a third high school. But, the city’s growth has not met the district’s projections.
When the new Dawson High School was opened, the campus was “mothballed” for renovations.
“When the city grows to its expected levels, we still plan to use the campus as the district’s third high school,” district spokesperson Renea Ivy-Sims said.
The long term plans for the facility limit the district’s ability to offer a long term lease. Under the proposed agreement, the city would have a one year agreement. At the end, of the lease period, the districts could assess their classroom needs and decide whether to lease the facility to the city for another year, Smith said.
However, several council members had concerns about the proposed lease, and how the city’s programs could evolve without the guarantee of a long term solution.
Smith told the council the agreement also held the possibility of a sublease agreement. The responsibilities associated with the sublease agreement created new concerns for the members of the council.
“Why can’t they do the lease directly with the school district and take us out of the loop? Do we want that liability?” asked Pearland Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Kyle.
Smith explained the sublease agreement allowed the city to control scheduling of their programs and how the space was utilized more closely. And, the sublease would cover a large portion of the city’s monthly lease payment, Smith said. Crosspoint Church had offered to sublease a portion of the space for $7,500 a month. In addition, representatives of the Northern Brazoria County Education Alliance had expressed interested in subleasing a portion of the city’s space.
Crosspoint pastor Tom Allen was there to answer questions.
“We are motivated and excited about the project,” Allen said.
“Have you talked to the school district directly?” Kyle asked.
“The school district has a policy that I don’t quite understand that with churches there is a limitation of 18 months in rental situations,” He said.
Councilman Scott Sherman said that he also had some misgivings about the potential for legal problems.
“I have concerns about the sublease as well,” Sherman said. “Good intentions are great. But, when we sign the contract we’re left with a space we’re hoping somebody else is going to pay off. There are empty buildings all over the city. If anybody is looking for space, they can take their pick.”
Smith presented other specifics of the proposal, such as the possibility of a larger summer camp and an afterschool program for middle school students.
“Some logistical issues come up, such as how do we get the kids there?” Councilman Kevin Cole asked.
“We talked to the district’s transportation department, and they said that in three of the school we’re talking about, the buses already pass by there. And, the cost for that would be included in the rent,” Smith said.
“There are so many different ideas floating around about this empty building right now,” Cole said. “Until we know more direction where everything is going to go, there’s almost too much up in the air. For instance, if a year goes by and PISD then needs the school to go back into full use, are we guaranteed to go back to Jamison and Junior High East? If not, we need to secure a guarantee we can keep our actual programs going. And, the term of the lease bothers me because it’s such a short term and there’s no guarantee.”
Councilmember Kyle asked the Park and Recreation Director for her opinion of the proposed agreement.
“I think there’s a lot of potential here,” Smith said. But, she explained some of her own concerns about ongoing communication problems with the district. Smith said the city had had to cancel or move classes more than fourteen times since January of 2008 due to scheduling conflicts at the schools.
“We currently have an agreement with the school district to utilize two different schools. We are often put in a situation for obvious reasons, it’s their school. They have primary usage. So, things will come up and we get bumped. While I understand that and the staff understands that. It’s really hard to repeatedly explain to customers: ‘we have to cancel your class. We can’t have your class. We have to move your class.’ We are told sometimes by PISD custodians. We’ve been told contractors coming in to do work that we have to go. And, it puts us in a very bad position. And, we are not able to offer the quality programs we promote when we don’t have control over the facility.”
Council member Woody Owens said the scheduling conflicts and communications issues were a problem that could potentially continue.
“One of the things that concern me is the fourteen times our programs have been cancelled or rescheduled because of the district, that does concern me,” Owens said. “We don’t have good enough communication with the school district if they don’t bother to notify us in advance so we can schedule our programs.”
Smith said she thought the consolidation of the programs to one location would help with the scheduling conflicts. But, she also said some aspects of the arrangement might take longer to work out than others.
“There’s a level of interest from a number of groups,” Smith said. “I can see how the puzzle could fit together if we work together to make it fit. But, the time line may be three or four years out.”
No action was taken by the council. District and city officials plan to meet again this week. Representatives from the Northern Brazoria County Education Alliance, Alvin Community College, and several Pearland industry leaders will be in attendance as well, district officials said.
“At that meeting, the district and city leaders can discuss what can happen and how to build on that,” PISD spokesperson Renea Ivy-Sims said. “We can explore the ideas and set a vision.”
Michelle Smith, Parks and Recreation Director, told Mayor Tom Reid and members of the City Council she felt the city’s recreation programs could be expanded to generate sufficient revenue to cover any additional costs. Smith presented several options and outcomes to the council and explained how the programs are currently managed.
At present, Pearland Parks and Recreation Department hosts programs and classes at two PISD campuses: Jamison Middle School and Pearland Junior High East, Smith said. For this arrangement, the city pays the district $60,000 a year. Under terms of the proposed lease agreement, the Parks and Recreation Department could consolidate their programs under one roof. But, the lease amount would go up to $15,000 a month or $180,000 a year, Smith said.
The Bailey Road Facility, the former Ninth Grade Center also known as the “old” Dawson High School, is a 240,000 sq. ft. facility that currently sits empty. District officials say they had expected Pearland’s growth to continue to the extent they would need a third high school. But, the city’s growth has not met the district’s projections.
When the new Dawson High School was opened, the campus was “mothballed” for renovations.
“When the city grows to its expected levels, we still plan to use the campus as the district’s third high school,” district spokesperson Renea Ivy-Sims said.
The long term plans for the facility limit the district’s ability to offer a long term lease. Under the proposed agreement, the city would have a one year agreement. At the end, of the lease period, the districts could assess their classroom needs and decide whether to lease the facility to the city for another year, Smith said.
However, several council members had concerns about the proposed lease, and how the city’s programs could evolve without the guarantee of a long term solution.
Smith told the council the agreement also held the possibility of a sublease agreement. The responsibilities associated with the sublease agreement created new concerns for the members of the council.
“Why can’t they do the lease directly with the school district and take us out of the loop? Do we want that liability?” asked Pearland Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Kyle.
Smith explained the sublease agreement allowed the city to control scheduling of their programs and how the space was utilized more closely. And, the sublease would cover a large portion of the city’s monthly lease payment, Smith said. Crosspoint Church had offered to sublease a portion of the space for $7,500 a month. In addition, representatives of the Northern Brazoria County Education Alliance had expressed interested in subleasing a portion of the city’s space.
Crosspoint pastor Tom Allen was there to answer questions.
“We are motivated and excited about the project,” Allen said.
“Have you talked to the school district directly?” Kyle asked.
“The school district has a policy that I don’t quite understand that with churches there is a limitation of 18 months in rental situations,” He said.
Councilman Scott Sherman said that he also had some misgivings about the potential for legal problems.
“I have concerns about the sublease as well,” Sherman said. “Good intentions are great. But, when we sign the contract we’re left with a space we’re hoping somebody else is going to pay off. There are empty buildings all over the city. If anybody is looking for space, they can take their pick.”
Smith presented other specifics of the proposal, such as the possibility of a larger summer camp and an afterschool program for middle school students.
“Some logistical issues come up, such as how do we get the kids there?” Councilman Kevin Cole asked.
“We talked to the district’s transportation department, and they said that in three of the school we’re talking about, the buses already pass by there. And, the cost for that would be included in the rent,” Smith said.
“There are so many different ideas floating around about this empty building right now,” Cole said. “Until we know more direction where everything is going to go, there’s almost too much up in the air. For instance, if a year goes by and PISD then needs the school to go back into full use, are we guaranteed to go back to Jamison and Junior High East? If not, we need to secure a guarantee we can keep our actual programs going. And, the term of the lease bothers me because it’s such a short term and there’s no guarantee.”
Councilmember Kyle asked the Park and Recreation Director for her opinion of the proposed agreement.
“I think there’s a lot of potential here,” Smith said. But, she explained some of her own concerns about ongoing communication problems with the district. Smith said the city had had to cancel or move classes more than fourteen times since January of 2008 due to scheduling conflicts at the schools.
“We currently have an agreement with the school district to utilize two different schools. We are often put in a situation for obvious reasons, it’s their school. They have primary usage. So, things will come up and we get bumped. While I understand that and the staff understands that. It’s really hard to repeatedly explain to customers: ‘we have to cancel your class. We can’t have your class. We have to move your class.’ We are told sometimes by PISD custodians. We’ve been told contractors coming in to do work that we have to go. And, it puts us in a very bad position. And, we are not able to offer the quality programs we promote when we don’t have control over the facility.”
Council member Woody Owens said the scheduling conflicts and communications issues were a problem that could potentially continue.
“One of the things that concern me is the fourteen times our programs have been cancelled or rescheduled because of the district, that does concern me,” Owens said. “We don’t have good enough communication with the school district if they don’t bother to notify us in advance so we can schedule our programs.”
Smith said she thought the consolidation of the programs to one location would help with the scheduling conflicts. But, she also said some aspects of the arrangement might take longer to work out than others.
“There’s a level of interest from a number of groups,” Smith said. “I can see how the puzzle could fit together if we work together to make it fit. But, the time line may be three or four years out.”
No action was taken by the council. District and city officials plan to meet again this week. Representatives from the Northern Brazoria County Education Alliance, Alvin Community College, and several Pearland industry leaders will be in attendance as well, district officials said.
“At that meeting, the district and city leaders can discuss what can happen and how to build on that,” PISD spokesperson Renea Ivy-Sims said. “We can explore the ideas and set a vision.”
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