SPARK Building to be Leased or Sold

Now vacant due to SPARK class reductions necessitated by budget cuts, the building that until last school year held the pre-school head start program will be either leased or sold, Bethlehem Area School Board members indicated at their facilities committee meeting Monday evening.

Currently, the board is considering an offer to lease the entire facility from a local non-profit that runs a pre-school program. Under that proposal, the group would pay only utility costs for the first three months of a five-year lease. From the fourth through sixth month, the rent would be 50 cents per square foot. For the rest of the first year, the rent would jump to $2.50 per square foot, and the rent for the remainder of the five years would be $4.50 per square foot.

Over the course of the lease, the rent would bring approximately $405,000 to the district and the utility costs would be paid by the renter, facilities director Mark Stein told the school board.

But that is less than the estimated $420,000 worth of repairs the building immediately needs, including a new roof, about half the board noted. And, there's no guarantee the property won't need other maintenance in the next half-decade either.

“Mothballing' the building, or just closing it and letting it sit vacant will cost the district about $35,000 a year in utility costs, Stein said.

“The idea was that we'd facilitate repairs with the rent,” Stein said.

School Board president Michele Cann added, “It would not be so much a money-making venture, but more of a 'let's not lose the building to disrepair' move.”

She said she favored selling the building over leasing it, but either is acceptable as long as the move is good for the district, she said.

While none of the board favored letting the building sit vacant, members were evenly split on whether to lease the building, or just attempt to sell it outright. Other than the group looking to lease the space, no other offers have been made to date.

“Basically, it would have to go to another school, or a developer,” Stein said of a potential sale.

For now, the board has directed Stein to pursue better lease terms than the initial agreement offered, it was decided, and the possibility of selling the property outright will also be explored.

While the board may be able to offset repairs costs to the building with a lease deal, recouping all of the expense may not be possible, Cann said, noting the roof job will be designed to last for 20 years or more.

“Who'd fix the roof when they're only going to be there five years?” she asked.